A Lion and His Cub
by Lady Celestial Star
Summary: Fifth Year: Harry fathers a child with Grace, a muggle girl he believed was his soul mate. Now she's gone and he's left to raise the babe on his own. However, Dumbledore, Mrs. Weasley and a few others don't believe that the baby is Harry's, but a plant sent by Lord Voldemort. Who is right, Dumbledore or Harry, and will they be able to deal and accept the truth? Occasional OOC.
1. Chapter 1

Summary:

**5****th**** year. Harry fathers a child, a child that no one really knew about. Dumbledore and Mrs. Wesley don't believe that the child is really Harry's but a trap set by Voldemort. Who is right, Harry...or Dumbledore. **

**There is going to be some slight bashing of almost every character in the books. The only one that will be exempt is Hagrid and the twins and maybe a few others and Harry of course.**

**Also, this is the winner of poll that was on my profile page, or I should at least say it comes in number one. All I do is remove the one in the lead and then post it's first chapter either on here or on AO3, allowing the other votes that people worked and voted so hard for to still remain. **

It was a gray dreary day, large engraved stones holding their silent vigils. But there was not just tombstones standing there today, but a small gathering of people, huddled around three mounds of earth.

The people were all dressed in black, save one man wearing white, speaking somber words and reading from a leather bound, well kept book. Towards the front of the crowd, near long wooden boxes besides the mounds of earth, there was a bespectacled young man holding a small tiny infant. He was wearing a long black cloak, and a faded black shirt and pants underneath. He looked on, his gaze upon the smaller casket but it was a far away look that seemed to haunt his eyes.

The baby, not knowing that this was a somber occasion, gurgled happily and reached up to touch the glasses glinting above her. She herself was also wearing a black dress, with gentle white lace lining it, her eyes seemed to glint with the same brilliant tint of emerald that the one holding her shared and that wasn't the only thing that they shared, their eyes.

They were both a brilliant shade of emerald, one shining and twinkling with unbridled joy, the other slightly clouded with grief.

As the pastor before them finished his sermon and the others passed by him, placing flowers on each of the silent coffins, they patted the boy's shoulder and whispered their condolences. A few made to take the baby into their arms, but the boy pulled back, holding onto the babe tighter. The one that reached out, pulled back as well, and then slowly walked away.

The priest came over and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"We were prepared for the loss, but it was too soon, and to lose her parents as well...I'm very sorry, Harry." said the priest solemnly.

The raven haired youth nodded.

"Now you face a brand new trial, you need to raise this little one. But you don't need to do it alone, you may have lost the support of Grace's family, but your family will be able to..."

"I don't have a family, she's all I have, and I'm all she has." said Harry softly as he brushed a small fringe of hair off to the side of the little girl's forehead.

"What about her godfather?" asked the priest with a frown.

"He did nothing to prevent this." said Harry with a growl. "But perhaps there is someone I can ask for some advice."

* * *

"What do you mean Harry's gone?" asked Sirius slamming a fist down at the table in Grimmauld Place.

It was a few days before Harry's fifteenth birthday, Sirius wanted to bring Harry to Headquarters and celebrate the first birthday he was able to since Harry was a baby. He had missed out on so much and wanted to celebrate with his godson properly.

"He wasn't there." said Remus soothingly. "We spread out and tried to find him, I'm just here to report it to Dumbledore." he nodded to the elderly man sitting at the table. "I'm going out to try and find him."

He took a piece of chicken off the plate and turned around and left the room, ripping it apart with his teeth, agitation evident on his face. Sirius sat down in his chair and fidgeted nervously.

"I...I'm sure he's fine." said Bill nervously.

"I don't need assurances, I need Harry _here_." said Sirius shortly. "I need to know that he's safe and that he's not...not..."

Dumbledore's eyes didn't leave his hands, Arabella told him that he was there this morning, and this afternoon he had left with a small bundle and wearing his wizard robes..where on earth could he have gone? Did he leave by his free will, or was he coerced into leaving Privet Drive?

He had received word from Harry towards the beginning of summer, asking to look into the protection of a girl named Grace, but there was so much to do in protecting the rest of the Britain's wizarding world that he didn't have the time to find her and place the requested protection. He told the boy, weeks later, to have her come to Hogwarts if he was worried, but he heard nothing further.

Suddenly, a silver lynx appeared in the middle of the room, directly over the pot full of stew that was to be their dinner.

"That's Kingsley!" said Mr. Weasley.

"_Found Harry, he was at the Burrow, I'll bring them to Headquarters." _

"Thank Mer...hang on...did he say '_them_'?" said Mrs. Weasley. "Who else could be with him?"

"I believe, that it might be a person named Grace." said Dumbledore thoughtfully.

"Who's Grace?" asked Sirius.

"Someone who wishes asylum at Hogwarts." said Dumbledore. "However, it may be beneficial to send her onto Hogwarts. Having more than the necessary ears here would not be wise..."

Soon, the sound of the front door opening and shutting echoed down in the kitchen, alerting them to someone who had just arrived. "Is he here? Is he..." said Sirius standing up quickly.

"We will find out in a moment." said Dumbledore with a warm smile. From where they sat, they heard another door open and shut from the floor above and then the front door opened once more. Kingsley and Remus then came into the kitchen, Kingsley's face looked slightly paler, while Remus looked confused.

"Wh-Where's Harry?" asked Sirius looking behind Kingsley and Remus, hoping to see the familiar messy mop of hair of his godson, but he didn't see any sign of him.

"He's...he's in the parlor." said Kingsley wiping his hand down his face slowly. "He'll be down in just a few moments."

"Is he alright?" said Mrs. Weasley worriedly.

"He's fine...and...well...maybe you'd better wait and see for yourself." said Kingsley.

"Has he been injured at all?" asked Dumbledore, slightly rising from his seat.

"No." said Kingsley. "He's...well..."

The door opened once again, a young raven haired youth came in backwards, easing the door with his foot.

"Harry!" said Sirius. "You're alright!"

"Shh!" said Harry quickly in a hushed voice. "You'll wake her."

"My mother can't hear all the way down here." said Sirius dismissing the notion.

"Not your mother..." he turned around, in his arms was a small baby girl, she was wrapped in a warm pink blanket and had a sparkling green bow in her thin black hair. "her."

The people in the kitchen, Dumbledore, Sirius, Bill, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley all stared at the bundle.

"Where...Where did that baby come from?" said Sirius, looking as if the baby had just become a bird in Harry's arms.

"Oh the poor thing, here, Harry...I'll take her." said Mrs. Weasley coming over with her arms outstretched.

"We're fine." said Harry, taking a step backwards. "She just needs her bottle."

Dumbledore looked down at the infant in the boy's arm, confusion painted across his face. Where did this infant come from, how did Harry come into possession of her? A thought then crossed his mind...a terrible thought. Harry was a gentle, selfless soul...could Voldemort be so...low that he would use an infant to get close to the boy? Of course he was.

"Harry..." said Dumbledore looking down at his fingers, not willing to risk to look into Harry's eyes.

Harry turned to look at the Headmaster, but was slightly hurt when he wouldn't look at him. The old man keep his gaze firmly at his hands and would not raise them.

"Yes sir?"

"Where did this child come from?" asked Dumbledore.

"She's mine sir." said Harry simply, his voice cold.

"Potter...a child is not a pet." said Snape waspishly as he glared at the boy, but unlike the Headmaster as he avoided Harry's eyes, Snape avoided looking at the babe.

"That's not what I meant sir," said Harry with a roll of his eyes.

"Then what _do_ you mean?" asked Bill.

"She's my daughter." said Harry.

The room became silent.

"Wh-What?" said Sirius.

"You're only fifteen!" shrieked Mrs. Weasley staring at the boy in shock.

Unfortunately, due to Mrs. Weasley's loud voice, it awoke the baby that was sleeping in Harry's arms. The poor thing began to cry loudly.

"Shh...shh...it's okay..." said Harry to the little baby in his arms as he rocked and bounced her gently. Harry tried to shush the babe in his arms, and looked over to the adults in the room sternly. "Can you talk a little softer?"

"Harry...where did that baby come from?" said Mr. Weasley weakly, talking in the hushed tone that complied with Harry's wish.

"With seven kids I thought you'd figure that out by now." said Harry with a chuckle.

"_Harry_!" said Sirius, though the sides of his mouth were twitching, even Mr. Weasley chuckled, with a faint blush. Bill turned a slight greenish tint as he avoided his parent's eyes.

"Harry...you can't be...I mean...you aren't...well..." said Bill.

"Before you ask, take a good look at her." said Harry. He shifted the baby in his hands arms and held her up to show her to the people in the room.

He held her up a little higher, and she gurgled happily as she looked around the room. She had startling green eyes, carbon copy of the young man that held her.

"Green eyes don't mean that she's your..." said Mr. Weasley.

"Well, if there's a spell to test paternity, start casting, until then...she's my daughter." said Harry coldly.

"Harry...do you know who the mother even is?" said Bill quickly.

Harry stared firmly at the oldest Weasley son. "Of course."

"Well that's a relief." said Bill with a sigh.

"My wife." said Harry bluntly.

The room was once again drenched in silence.

"Harry...you're fifteen." repeated Mr. Weasley in a deadpanned voice.

"And so was Grace." said Harry holding the baby close. "And she always will be." he added softly as he held the baby closer.

Dumbledore's eyes slowly rose, now it was looking at the baby intently.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Dumbledore his eyes narrowing.

Harry turned to look at the infant in his arms, his eyes moist."Grace is dead, Death Eaters found her while I had her for the day. She was having a doctor's appointment, over two hundred people died in that hospital." said Harry. "Not one of them knew what really hit them."

"What?" said Kingsley horror struck. "We didn't hear anything about that."

"Big explosion at a Lord Nelson Hospital? You really didn't look into that?" said Harry coldly.

Mrs. Weasley looked horrified, Dumbledore looked to the side, regret in his eyes.

"You want the whole story?" asked Harry.

"Yes, here Harry, sit by me." said Sirius patting a seat beside him. Harry eased into the chair with the infant in his arms. The tiny infant reached up to grab his glasses and managed to slide them off and wave them in her hands.

"You little scamp." said Harry with a smile as he tried to retrieve his glasses. As he tried to get the glasses back he began to tell them what had happened to bring about the little girl's presence.

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**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story! Merry Christmas! **

**The chapters for this story and You Cannot Save the World will be updated on Fridays, but those two will alternate that way I can have some time to myself and not drive myself completely insane.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Man, I've got this cold and it's kicking my ass! Had less than four hours of sleep under my belt and had to go to work. Then I finally bought some knock-off Nyquil, and at approximately two in the morning when I got up to blow my nose, I felt so loopy that I just collapsed sideways on the bed and crawled awkwardly under the covers. Man...normally a cold I just suck it up and go with it, but this time around, I'm miserable as hell.**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"I've known Grace for years. She...she was the only friend I had in the muggle world, before I knew about Hogwarts. Amazingly, she was the only person Dudley couldn't bully around out of everyone else in our class. She was tough, nothing could beat her, she was the best goalie in our class for football, smartest girl in our class...all around best of everything, looks, brains..." said Harry.

"Sounds like the perfect girl." said Sirius with a smile.

"Yeah, she was perfect, in everything but health." said Harry.

"What do you mean?" asked Snape, curious despite himself.

"She was sick, from the day she was born. Despite how tough and agile as she was...she got sick easily. ..The doctors said she wasn't going to be able to live past eighteen, let alone twenty." said Harry as he smoothed down the girl's hair. "And she didn't tell me all this until after I got my Hogwarts letter. She was the only person I told my secret to, and outside her family, I was the only one she told hers to. She told me she was dying, that she had at the most nine years left to live. It crushed me, I didn't want to leave her at that point."

"She was your best friend." said Bill nodding.

"We were engaged." said Harry.

"How can a..." said Tonks.

"In our opinions, we were a lot more...grown up then the rest of our classmates. Also, we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with each other, it was feeling the both of us had. We couldn't picture ourselves growing old with anyone else. So...Grace braided us a pair of rings out of gold thread and we...promised we wouldn't be with anyone else, despite being so far apart." said Harry.

"We exchanged letters for two years and the summer when you escaped the last time," he looked at Sirius. "she told me she wanted to get married and have a kid."

"Her parents couldn't have agreed that." said Mrs. Weasley.

"Actually, they were happy for us." said Harry.

"How could they be happy?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"I never asked them why, there were more pressing matters to deal with than _their _views. We got married before you came to get me for the Quidditch Cup by her pastor, who was well aware of the situation, and well...she had Mercy while I was in school."

"Mercy?" asked Sirius as he took the little girl's hand by two fingers.

"Mercy Angel Potter, Grace came up with the name." said Harry, kissing the baby's head tenderly. "They sent me so many pictures..."

"But how could they be...how could they let the two of you..." said Mr. Weasley.

"Grace wanted a child, she wanted to know what it was like to have a baby of her own, we didn't tell her parents till after wards, so their preferences in the matter were a little late." said Harry.

Mrs. Weasley looked furious, but Harry stopped her.

"She was _dying, _Mrs. Weasley and I loved her..." said Harry. "And besides, they were only mad for about an hour. And another day after Mercy was born, Grace was wiped completely out and we almost lost her then. But a week after we...got together for the first time...Grace's parents got a hold of their pastor, told him what was going on and we had a private little ceremony."

"Harry...you're too young..." said Dumbledore carefully.

"I know more than most people in this room." said Harry firmly.

"Don't spew nonsense Potter." spat Snape.

"Fine...let me spell it out for you, whether you believe it or not is really no concern of mine, and really I don't give a damn. Till Grace came along, I've lived in a house that punched, kicked, starved, whipped, and pretty much enslaved me for years. Dudley, himself made sure that I didn't have any friends aside from Grace, he scared all the kids away from me and showed them what would happen if they came near me. She was the only one that ever stood up for me, the only one that really loved me, that really did all she could to help me." said Harry firmly.

"Till now." said Sirius with a smile.

"That hasn't come around yet." said Harry looking down at Mercy.

Sirius looked hurt. "What do you mean?" said Sirius.

"I'm still being sent to the Dursleys aren't I?" said Harry sternly.

"It's for your protection." said Dumbledore wearily.

"Don't you _dare _talk to me about protection!" hissed Harry.

The room was silent once again.

"I asked you to protect Grace, and if I didn't have Mercy with me at the park...I would have lost them both." said Harry darkly.

Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly in shock.

"If you had just done me that one favor, the only _fucking _favor I've ever asked, ("_Harry!"_gasped Mrs. Weasley) Grace would have been able to enjoy the last few years of her life, watching Mercy grow up a little. But no, you couldn't be bothered...you had to just let them get to her and kill her, and her parents...not even they could see Mercy grow up!"

"I...I didn't know." said Dumbledore weakly.

"Bullshit...I told you all about her, I wrote to you that Grace had a baby, I didn't tell you it was my baby cause I didn't need you taking Mercy from me." spat Harry. "Besides, I _doubt_ that you would have _rushed _to ensure her safety if I had given you anymore information. I _pleaded _with you, and you did nothing. Oh and some of you aren't absolved of this either. I sent a letter to a good number of you, to take her to Hogwarts..." he added looking around the room.

"But you all were too busy..." said Harry.

"We were protecting the Magical world..." said Snape, though it was a much gentler tone than what he normally spoke to the boy in. He could understand where the boy was coming from...he knew it all too well.

"And yet, you couldn't protect or bring one person to safety? You couldn't take a half hour out of your day to help me out...to do me a favor...I think you all _fucking owe_ me a favor."

"Not expelling you has been a favor in itself." drawled Snape.

"My family was sacrificed to protect this pathetic world, and every stupid bastard in it. I went through a veritable hell on earth, just so I wouldn't inconvenience Dumbledore with extra protection. I kept the stone away from Voldemort in my first year..."

"It didn't need..." said Snape.

"All he would have had to do was break the goddam mirror, the stone would have come out!" said Harry.

"How do you know?" spat Snape.

"I tested it! I put something in it, and when I broke it, it came out!" said Harry. "And then, I got rid of the basilisk under the school!"

"The what?" said Sirius and Remus.

"I'll tell you later..." said Harry.

"If you had gotten a teacher..." said Mr. Weasley softly.

"They'd need me to go down and open the doors." said Harry. "Then, had to go through the idiotic notion of having Dementors all over the place, they attacked me at least three times...and then last last year...I'm entitled to something...I'm entitled to ask for four people to be protected...but apparently...according to the Great and Mighty Dumbledore, I haven't suffered enough, and I need to lose a few more people."

Dumbledore turned his head to the side. "I...I'm sorry... I didn't realize..."

"Well, you're realizing that now aren't you? And you know what...I'm really...regretting my choice." said Harry with disgust as Mercy sucked on her thumb.

"Your choice?" said Dumbledore looking to the side.

"Mercy has a long list of honorary aunts and uncles and grandparents...I named you as the godfather." said Harry darkly.

Dumbledore looked up quickly, his eyes met Harry's and there was no flash of red that he had been dreading, but just anger...pure...Lily Evans anger bursting forth from his eyes. He could feel his heart constrict with pain and guilt.

"Harry...we're just concerned..." said Mrs. Weasley.

"I could have used the concern a month ago." said Harry. "What are you concerned about now?"

"That...Mercy could just be a plant by Voldemort." said Dumbledore, working hard trying to choose his words carefully. "As selfless as you are, dear boy...it's not unlikely that you would take it upon yourself to raise the child." He was trying to gain back the thought process he had before Harry's rant.

"She was born before Voldemort came back." said Harry dully. "Anything else you're worried about?"

"Harry..." said Dumbledore warily.

"You don't need to worry about a thing if you're concerned she's a spying on you, at this point I don't care what you have planned, what you're doing to defend against him, I've got my hands full here." said Harry as he rocked Mercy back and forth.

"Perhaps it would be better if you let someone else take care of her for now." said Dumbledore.

Harry glared at the old man. "Why?"

"Just for little while..." said Dumbledore. "Till we can verify..."

"Take her away from me, and you'll regret it." snarled Harry.

"Molly, if you would." said Dumbledore standing up. "Harry, you're coming with me to Hogwarts, you'll be safer there."

Sirius looked between Dumbledore and Harry...he didn't quite know what to make of the situation. This baby had strong family resemblance with his cub...and she seemed like a normal little baby, at least that's how Harry acted when he was a tiny infant. He watched as Mrs. Weasley moved slowly over to Harry, who seemed to slightly tighten his hold on the baby and watch every move that Mrs. Weasley made.

Snape looked at Potter, he was tense, he didn't want to surrender the child to anyone, not even the mother of his best friend...though he had never been a father, he could see justification in the distrust the boy was showing. The Magical world allowed him to have a horrendous childhood, and robbed him of the only girl he had ever loved.

All that was left, was this child, and they wanted to take her away from him as well. The boy was becoming riddled with distrust towards everything around him, that could keep him alive, but also turn him mad...if Moody himself wasn't the perfect model for that.

"I hope you're prepared for what's going to happen." said Harry with a stern voice.

"What's that?" said Mrs. Weasley pulling back slightly.

"He'll find out if he wants to go through with this..." said Harry scowling over to Dumbledore. He looked up to Mrs. Weasley and spoke darkly. "Don't let him talk you into giving her to anyone else, if you do...I'll never forgive you."

Mrs. Weasley looked as if she were ready to start crying, but took the baby into her arms, and immediately, once she saw a new person and not the person she recognized, she began to cry.

Sirius looked at Harry in confusion. "You're giving her up rather quickly..."

"If I fight, she's going to get hurt." said Harry. "Her bag is in the parlor, don't give her anything with blueberries, she's allergic, her formula is in the bag, she ate about an hour ago. She has disposable diapers in there as well, here..this is what they use in the muggle world to pay for stuff." said Harry pulling out a small plastic card. "..ah...best let Professor Lupin or Hermione handle that. I don't think I'll be gone longer than a week or so."

"Harry..." said Dumbledore firmly.

"If you really care, I'm not going to be gone for longer than a week." He walked over to the screaming child and kissed her forehead, the baby stopped and hiccuped sadly, reaching for the teen's face.

"Sorry Munchkin, Daddy's gotta go away for a little while." said Harry with a sad smile. "But Mrs. Weasley is going to take good care of you, and you'll get to play with grandpa all the time now."

"Grandpa?" said Sirius. "Who is _Grandpa_?" He looked at Mr. Weasley.

"You." said Harry giving Sirius a smirk and his baby one last kiss before Dumbledore led him out of the room.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Sirius, a hint of jealously in her eyes, Sirius however was in shock.

Sirius looked down at the baby that was crying loudly once again, he'd have to do a much better job of guardian than what he did with Harry.

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**Thanks for reading please review!**

**Now remember, the next update will happen in two weeks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the short chapter, I was under the weather and doing A LOT of things that really had to be done before a certain date. Not homework or something like that, but something that had to do with living. **

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next few days were harsh for everyone at Grimmauld Place, it wasn't that the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort had uncovered their headquarters, it wasn't that the Ministry had found out about Tonks and Kingsley's allegiance to them...no, none of that happened. The cause of all the discomfort was the fact that there was a tiny infant that was clearly and very audibly unhappy.

The only time that Mercy would stop crying would be when she exhausted herself from all the tears and unyielding crying. Mrs. Weasley would try and walk around with her in her arms and try and calm her down, until she would begin to get a headache and pass her onto her husband, oldest son, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Sirius or Remus. However, no one knew the (figuratively) magical way to silence her and make her happy.

"C'mon sweetheart, c'mon...please...please stop crying." said Sirius bouncing her in his arms carefully. He would even turn into Padfoot and try and lick her face to get her to giggle.

But the infant was not going to stop crying, she'd whimper even while she took food. However, only Tonks could feed her and that was when she changed her appearance to look a little bit more like Harry to coax her to open her mouth. But Mercy was very clever for a babe of less than a year old, after the first time she was fed, she knew it wasn't him...but she still only allowed Tonks to feed her in Harry's form.

After many, _many _days of no sleep, and constant headaches, Mrs. Weasley and Remus ended up decided to take Mercy to the Healer's shop in Diagon Alley. They could not and were unable to trust the Healers at St. Mungoes, they knew this small shop's healer was on their side.

They carried the small infant into the Healer shop, the baby still wailing loudly and attracting the attention of several people on the street.

"Come on, we don't want to be caught in the streets with her." said Remus ushering Mrs. Weasley forward and pulling the blanket a little higher up to hide the infant.

They entered a large stone faced shop further along past Gringotts, there was a large bubbling cauldron in the front store window full of gold liquid. A small sign in front of the cauldron read: _New cure for Dragon Pox available, see Healer inside for details._ Inside one of the Healers looked up from behind the desk and smiled. He was a thin old man with a short salt and pepper beard with short hair on his head to match. He had violet eyes behind a pair of square framed glasses.

"Hello, Molly, Remus." he said loudly over the screams of the infant. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Jerome." said Remus shaking the Healer's hand. "Listen, can you give this baby a check up? Make sure she's alright."

"No problem." said Jerome taking his wand out and waving it carefully over the baby. "What's the story with the child. She's not a Weasley, I can guarantee that." he added with a smile at the crop of black hair. "And no one in your family had this color of hair, not anyone _I've _ever delivered anyway...this..."

The baby then opened her eyes and looked up at the Healer, she stopped crying for a moment and gazed fixedly at the violet eyes looking down at her.

The healer stared down at the child. He then looked up at Mrs. Weasley, and Remus. "I've delivered two boys that looked just like this, only one with this color eyes...Where's Harry?"

"He's at Hogwarts." said Remus.

"And who's this little baby?" said the Healer Jerome. "Who's her parents?"

"...Harry..." said Remus.

Jerome looked shocked, but then looked down at the baby his eyes watering. "I'm not even going to ask...but...tell me...tell me he's a good father."

"He is." said Mrs. Weasley and Remus. They couldn't say no, for the length of time they saw him interact with her, he was a good father.

"Why do you have the baby then?"

"Dumbledore took Harry to Hogwarts to separate the two of them." said Mrs. Weasley quietly. Remus looked around to make sure that no one was close enough to listen. The only one that was close to them was a female Healer filling phials clear across the room.

"Well, one cannot say that Dumbledore's ideas are infallible." muttered Jerome. "He's made some pretty big mistakes in his life."

Remus and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other. "So what does _he_ think is wrong with the child?" asked Jerome.

"Well, she just won't stop crying, that's what's worrying us right now. But Dumbledore thinks...and so does some other people...that Mercy here...is something that...You Know Who might have conjured up to get close to Harry." said Remus.

The Healer looked at the pair of them with the baby in his arms, she was beginning to sniffle and cry again.

"Well, I can tell you right off, that if she _is_ a product of dark magic, it's nothing I've ever seen or heard of. She's not an inferi, she's got a heartbeat and they don't cry like this." He waved his wand over the baby and a scroll blossomed forth from the tip of his wand. He took the scroll as he rocked the baby back and forth.

_Name: Mercy Angel Potter_

_Age: Three months (Magical age acceleration already in place, has mental and physical dexterity of one year old)_

_Mother: Grace Ariana Cross (Muggle)_

_Father: Harold James Potter (Wizard)_

_Magical Status: Witch_

_Previous Ailment: None_

_Current Ailment: None_

_Allergies: Blueberries_

_Current Distress: Yes_

_Cause of Distress: Lack of Paternal Presence_

_Solution: Return of Paternal Presence. _

The Healer looked at the scroll and then looked at them with a smile.

"Well, she's his daughter, no doubt about that, I could even whip up Miss Cross' family history if he really wants. And to fix Mercy..." said Jerome.

"Yes?" said Mrs. Weasley and Remus eagerly.

"The only way to stop her crying...is to bring her daddy back." said Jerome. "Or her mother, where is she?"

"She...she passed away." said Remus. "She and her parents."

"And Dumbledore allowed this little baby to be separated from her only relative? That's charming. Well, I'll sign a note that says that if she's not reunited with her father, she can suffer from some very traumatic psychological effects, that guilt trip should pull him back to sense." said Jerome. "How's Harry faring, from being separated from his daughter?"

"Last thing I heard from Minerva, was that he was refusing to eat, drink and sleep...Poppy's been forced to put nutrient, sleeping, and water straight into him." said Remus sadly. "She says she can't keep up with it forever, he's making his body, and core fight back. He's sure stubborn..." he added with a rue smile.

"How long has she been doing that?'

"Five days now." said Remus.

"She's got two days left to do that. After that, he's going to crash." said Jerome. "And it won't just be a soft crash, it will be a very hard...very devastating crash." he handed the crying child back into Remus' arms.

"Let's go to Hogwarts, reunite this little baby with her father, and convince Dumbledore to fix the mess that he is making." said Jerome. "Before he does some permanent damage."

* * *

Harry stood beside the window of the tower that Dumbledore had given him, (also had locked him in to prevent him from running from Hogwarts and back to Grimmauld Place, he had done that first day) and gazed out onto the grounds of Hogwarts.

Dumbledore had continued to visit him, bringing him meals, treats, and pots of tea. All Dumbledore wanted to do was talk to the boy, but Harry wouldn't speak, he wouldn't even look at Dumbledore when the man would enter the room. He would either sit on the window seat, or in front of the fire and stare at the flames, completely silent and rebelling against the man.

From all the way up to the tower, Harry could see three people making their way with a small bundle in one of their arms. He recognized Remus, and Mrs. Weasley. Could the bundle in their arms be...could it be Mercy? The last figure, he didn't know nor recognize the man.

He turned to look at the door expectantly, Dumbledore was either sure to come in and tell him stay here, or he was going to let him out. Either way, he was going to be with his daughter, come hell or high water. He regretted putting her in the hands of another, but if he were to fight, Dumbledore would only remove her by force and she'd get hurt. The only thing that was in his favor, was that he was leaving Mercy in Sirius' hands. He wouldn't let Dumbledore take her.

He sat beside the window and waited, for anything.

It was an hour later, when Dumbledore, Remus, Mrs. Weasley and Healer Jerome came into the room, with Mercy in Mrs. Weasley's arms. Harry's appearance made Remus and Mrs. Weasley wince slightly.

Harry had dark circles under his eyes, and his face was pinched slightly. His hair was scraggier than normal, and his skin looked pale. It wasn't Madam Pomfrey just worrying needlessly, he had gone through days of no food or water passing his lips, as a form of protest against Dumbledore. Mercy however didn't mind his appearance, but reached out her arms to grab at her father.

"Hey there shortcake." said Harry walking over to Mercy and picking her up into his arms. She stopped crying and began to laugh happily as she placed her small fingers on his nose.

"Were you a good girl?" said Harry with a smile as he rocked her back and forth.

"She was a little angel..." said Remus lying.

"A very sad and loud angel." said Jerome with a smirk.

"Who's this?" asked Harry looking at the man before him.

"This is Jerome O'Conner, he's a Healer...he looked at Mercy for us." said Mrs. Wealsey.

Harry gripped Mercy closer to his chest. "Is she alright? What happened?"

"She was just a little upset about this whole ordeal, being separated from her Poppa." said Jerome with a smile. "She should be just fine now."

"That's a relief." said Harry with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that Mercy was suffering so..." said Dumbledore humbly.

"She wasn't the only one." muttered Harry.

"I am sorry..." repeated Dumbledore, speaking sincerely. "I..."

"I suggest that you don't do this again." said Jerome sternly. "I've told you time and time again that meddling where you ought not to meddle will only hurt people, despite your good intentions."

"You've got a lot to make up for." said Harry striding out of the room. He didn't look at anyone as he left, just focusing on the little bundle in his arms. "You all do."

They watched as he walked away and down to the Great Hall.

"You know, I wouldn't blame the boy if he didn't let any of you watch that little muffin." said Jerome as he smirked. "From what I've heard in rumors, he's got some lingering trust issues, doing this won't help at all."

* * *

"_My lord." said a masked figure as they knelt before the seated Dark Lord Voldemort. _

"_What is it?" _

"_I just received some very interesting information." said the Death Eater with a satisfied smile. _

"_I will be the judge of that. What is it?" asked Voldemort in a icy tone. _

"_Potter...has a baby girl...a daughter." said the Death Eater. _

_Voldemort sat in slight shock, and then a venomous smile crept across his face. _

"_I will admit, that _is _very interesting."_

**Thanks for reading! **

**Hmm...question of the chapter...let's see...IF YOU'VE SEEN ANY..._What is your favorite Don Bluth film?_**

**My personal favorite...God...I don't have one that stands out. There's American Tale but The Secret of NIMH will always be the top pick!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Man, I've had a very interesting work week and a lot of other things that needed (and still do) need my undivided attention. **

**I don't own Harry Potter. **

* * *

Harry and Mercy sat at the dinner table together, Harry had a small spoonful of yellow colored baby food, coaxing it into Mercy's mouth.

"There's a good girl, you like bananas don't you?" cooed Harry as Mercy took the food off the spoon and eating it happily.

"That aint bananas." said Ron looking at the mush on the spoon.

"You should see the peas." said Harry with a smirk.

"Harry..." said Hermione looking worriedly at Mercy.

"Yeah?" asked Harry.

"Are you going to leave Mercy here..." said Hermione.

"No." said Mrs. Weasley, Remus, and Sirius together.

Harry looked between the three of them. "Something wrong?"

"She wasn't happy when you had to leave her behind." said Sirius with an embarrassed smile. "She screamed bloody murder all the time."

"Wow...really?" said Harry looking down at Mercy, "You gave them a taste of what it's like to be daddy...didn't you shortcake?"

Mercy gurgled happily.

"What?" said Ron. "She doesn't cry for you!"

"The hell she doesn't! When she gets fussy...oh man...I just want to cry along with her." said Harry. The baby in the high chair began giggling and reaching for the spoon. "Yeah, that's right, I'm talking about you." he added with a smile as he tapped a few spoonfuls of banana onto her tiny plate, allowing her to play and eat at her own pace.

"When she was born, I remember reading that only Grace's grandfather could get her to eat if Grace wasn't there. Mercy would tug on his beard and at eat at the same time." said Harry. "It took a while for her to eat for me." said Harry.

"So...would she have calmed down after a while?" said Fred.

"How should I know? This is my first kid." said Harry.

"So is she coming to Hogwarts with us?" asked Ron.

"Well, if Dumbledore says she's not allowed, I'm not going." said Harry.

"But Harry...you have to, you need your education." scolded Hermione.

"And Mercy needs her parent more. I don't need to work, I have more than enough money to last me the rest of my and Mercy's life and beyond. As for Voldemort...he's not _my_ problem to fix." said Harry firmly.

The room went silent.

"Dumbledore got the world in this mess." said Harry. "He can get the world out."

"But Harry...You-Know-Who killed your parents...you should..." said Hermione softly.

"I should what? Want revenge? Look what revenge almost cost Sirius...it cost him twelve plus years in Azkaban. Let the adults take care of it..." said Harry.

"But..." said Hermione stammering. "Even Grace..."

"Voldemort got a hold of Grace because Dumbledore couldn't be bothered with protecting her." said Harry sternly.

The rest of the room looked uncomfortable.

"I'm done sacrificing my family for others, they come first now, and if no one likes it, then forget you." said Harry wiping the yellow gunk off his shirt after Mercy had thrown it at him.

Sirius pulled Harry over to him. "Self-preservation at last." said Sirius with a smile.

Harry looked up at his godfather and began to snicker.

"What's so funny?" asked Sirius.

"Mercy's got quite an arm on her, she managed to nail you in the hair with banana mush." said Harry with a gleeful smile.

* * *

Days later but just before the summer holidays were over and done with, Harry had planned out a day of shopping before the school started. However, with as protective as the adults were being about him, he knew he wouldn't be able to go, alone that is.

"Hey Professor Lupin?" asked Harry.

"Hmm?" said Lupin taking a sip of coffee.

"Would you be willing to take Mercy and I shopping for clothes...she's going to need some to grow into while we're at school."

Remus looked at Harry, then smiled: "Sure, why not, as long as we aren't too far, and we'll need more than just me going with you."

"We'll take whoever, but I hope they aren't in a rush." said Harry. "It's been a while since Mercy's been outside."

"Can we go?" asked Ron.

Mrs. Weasley looked at her children worriedly.

"We're just going to muggle baby stores, you'd all be bored." said Harry. "And maybe a fabric store."

"What do you want in a fabric store?" asked Hermione.

Harry only smiled.

Remus, Harry, Mercy, Tonks and Mr. Weasley walked around in the business district, stopping in at different stores finding different things for Mercy to use while in school. Mr. Weasley would lean over to Harry a few times and whisper advice on what to get and what could just be renewed with magic at school.

Harry picked out several different outfits for Mercy, some she could wear now, and some she would grow into. He picked up plenty of toys for her to play with and even a few storybooks to read to her at night.

Dumbledore had granted her permission to come and even offered to create a stroller to levitate up the steps to make taking her to classes easier. Every teacher that was at the school were notified of the new arrival and ensured the Headmaster and Harry there would be a child-safe area for Mercy to play in. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher wouldn't promise nor accept Mercy in the class, so Dumbledore offered to watch her for that period...Harry was still upset for what he did, but there was no other alternative.

Snape was...silent about the entire thing, he didn't say yes or no to her coming, but advised Harry, (more civil than Harry had ever seen him be) that there was plenty of dangerous aromas that could bloom from misbrewed potions therefore it wasn't safe in his class. So Dumbledore got to play babysitter for two classes.

It was a tough choice to let him watch Mercy, but if he wanted to make it up to Harry, he could at least give him a chance to do so. But the first wrong thing to happen, no more chances, also, Hagrid would have been his first pick, but he was not back to school as of yet.

Harry pulled a small dress with little butterflies decorating the skirt and a large glittering butterfly on the shirt. "What about this one?" asked Harry holding the outfit up against Mercy, it was just her size, if not slightly bigger. Mercy giggled and patted the butterfly.

"Yeah, I think so too..." said Harry with a smile. He placed the outfit in the cart he was pushing and continued looking for another one.

"How many outfits does a baby need?" said Remus.

"She's a girl! She has to look her best!" said Tonks looking adoringly at a pair of tiny shoes. "Harry, you _have _to get her these!" said Tonks picking up a pink pair of tennis shoes and a pair of black dress shoes with sparkling glitter bows on the toes.

"They're just too cute!" said Tonks squealing with glee.

"She doesn't even walk yet." said Remus looking at the shoes with a smile.

"Oh, she may start at the school..." said Harry taking both shoes and putting them in the cart. "She doesn't have a sleeper yet...uh...here we go...here's a kitty one...you like this one?" He extended it to the baby and Mercy tugged on it, feeling it against her skin.

"I'm taking that as a yes." said Harry with a smile. "Lets see...she's got plenty of day to day clothes...toys and books for right now, blankets, pacies, bottles...Let's head to that fabric store we passed."

"Why do you want to go to a fabric store, again?" asked Tonks.

"You'll see at some point." said Harry. "But I hope I haven't lost my touch."

Tonks looked confused.

As they walked around the fabric store, they saw Harry pick up soft fabric of various colors and styles, and textures.

"What's this for?" asked Remus.

"Well, I'm getting enough to make her a new one, but you'll see if I can get it done tonight." said Harry.

"I can't wait." said Tonks. "I want to finally know what the hippogriff you're talking about."

After dinner, Harry took Mercy into the parlor and began to cut and sew the fabric together. He only had the practice in making clothes for taking in most of Dudley clothes so they could fit his smaller frame. It shouldn't be too hard to make an outfit from scratch.

"I wonder what he's going to make?" said Tonks.

"He's not making an outfit, is he?" said Hermione. "He can't make clothes."

"He seems to think he can." said Remus.

"I can, at least little girl's clothes." said Harry's voice. He came into the room, with the his daughter in his arms. She wasn't wearing her usual plain pink onesy, this time, she was wearing a miniature Hogwarts uniform, with a gold and red bow in her hair.

"Oh! She looks so cute!" said Ginny smiling at the giggling baby.

"Seems she likes the color scheme." said Harry with a smile.

"Of course, she's a Potter...they all love gold and red." said Sirius picking the baby up and tossing her lightly in the air.

"She's all set for school, Remus, I'll leave my card with you, if I need anything for Mercy, I'll send you to the stores to get it." said Harry.

"Why not magical stuff?" asked Ron.

"Her mother was muggle...I don't want to just abandon her mother's world, I want to keep Mercy grounded in both." said Harry. "Though...taking her to a magical school for about two years of her life is anything but grounding her..."

* * *

Finally the day came. Mercy was all washed, brushed and made absolutely adorable. They boarded the train, Ron and Hermione, both being Prefects, had to patrol the train and keep the students from hexing each other before they got to school. Harry held onto Mercy as he tried to find an empty compartment, gaining several confused looks as he walked past students his own age.

"What's up with the baby?" asked one of them as they passed.

"She's a cutie though." said a girl as she gushed over the tiny baby.

"Pardon me." said Harry as he opened a door and people began to shift around him trying to find their own compartments.

He found one that was completely empty, allowing him to deposit Mercy's diaper bag and set up a small baby chair to sit and play in. Ginny came in behind him and sat in the same compartment to keep him company, but once the train ride started, company wasn't something he was lacking. Once all the girls heard that there was a baby on board, they flooded into the compartment and wanted to hold and play with her.

None of them mentioned if they believed Harry or not, they just wanted to hold the baby and dote on her shamelessly. After a while, Mercy was getting upset by being passed from one girl to the next and began to cry. Harry reached over and took her back into his arms.

"Come here, shortcake." said Harry. "Daddy's got you."

"Daddy?" asked a few of the girls together.

"You were passing her around and didn't ask who she was...she's my daughter." said Harry.

"...adopted?" said one of the girls.

"No...biological." said Harry.

"You..." said the girls, blushing slightly.

Harry placed his forehead on Mercy's and smiled. "Yup, she's my little girl..." said Harry with a smile.

A few girls continued blushed and gave a sigh and '_Aww_ed'.

"Uh...who's the mother?" asked one of the girls.

"...No one that goes to school here." said Harry softly. Mercy yawned and blinked her eyes slowly. "Someone's sleepy, can you all leave for a while, she needs to sleep."

"Aww..." said the girls once again, though this time, they were a little put out.

"She's going to be at school all year..." said Harry. "You'll have more than enough time to spoil her rotten for me."

The girls giggled and pooled out of the compartment and left Ginny and Harry to rock Mercy to sleep.

"Those girls were sure taken with Mercy." said Ginny. "I've only seen a few of them go gaga over a baby unicorn or kitten."

"Well, I can see why...she's like a little living doll they can play with." said Harry with a smile. Mercy rubbed her small fist in her eye and continued to sleep.

"I'm amazed that you let her be passed around like that." said Ginny. "Especially after what happened with Dumbledore."

"As long as she was fine with it...I don't want her upset if I'm not the one holding her all the time, I need a break too." said Harry.

"So you're trying to get her used to not having you around all the time?" said Ginny. "Pretty clever, Harry."

"Yeah, hopefully she'll be used to Dumbledore at least before my first Defense class, the teacher won't let her in there." said Harry.

"Stupid teacher." said Ginny.

"My feelings exactly." said Harry with a smile. "Put if she's not happy with her in there, I'm not going to push it. Last thing I need is someone to emotionally abuse her while she's still in diapers."

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review!**

**Question of the chapter! It's close to Valentines Day..._What are you going to get YOUR __sweetheart? _**

**And if you don't have one..._What famous person would you love to have as your Valentine?_**

**Mine would have to be...well, if we are going to go with living...I'd have to say...Liam Neeson or Chuck Norris one of those two. **

**And if we are going with people of the past...Jeremy Brett. Definitely Jeremy Brett.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Whoo, it's a lucky thing that I managed to get this all done before I had to work. You know what would be kind of crazy? If unbeknownst to you and me, we had actually met up today? **

**I don't own Harry Potter. **

* * *

They made their way into the Great Hall, Harry carried both Mercy and the diaper bag and took a seat towards the back of the Hall, away from the table and closest to the door to take Mercy out if she got fussy. Ginny took a seat beside Harry and helped set up Mercy's small baby seat.

"Are you going to stay down here for the whole feast?" asked Ginny.

"No, I think I'm going to go to bed once the main course hits, I can't keep Mercy up as late as everyone else." said Harry. "Dumbledore set me up my own dorm in Gryffindor House so Mercy and I can sleep in the same room without waking anyone else up."

"Too bad, Ron was starting to get good at walking Mercy up and down the corridors at night." said Ginny.

"When did he do that?" asked Harry.

"When you two were separated." said Ginny. "Hermione and I would change the diapers and the boys would play with her...they'd take the fun jobs."

"Not surprising." said Harry as he took a few jars of mashed peas, applesauce and a small packet of cheerios. "I'm not waiting for the feast to start."

He began to spoon the food into Mercy's mouth. Ginny watched with wonder-filled eyes, Harry's normally serious set face was cracked into a joyful smile, his eyes were almost brimming with light and he seemed to radiate happiness.

He was a changed person...he was...happy...

"Hey! Trying to be antisocial?" said Fred.

"Now that's not fair, Unkie George and Unkie Fred want to play with the widdle babykins too!" said George nuzzling against Mercy's cheek. Mercy giggled loudly waved her hands in the air.

Ron and Hermione joined them down at the, Ron made faces to keep Mercy entertained as she took the food Harry gave her. People kept looking over at them, especially the baby in the high seat. No one came over to accost them, except for one...

"Where did the brat come from, Potter?" came a snarky voice from behind him.

Harry didn't even turn around, but smirked, "If your parents haven't told you by now, they'd better soon."

Draco turned a faint pink as the girls nearby began to giggle.

"So where does she come from Harry?" asked Neville.

"I'll tell you later." said Harry. "Come on, shortcake...a few more spoonfuls of peas and you can get some applesauce."

Draco watched as Harry fed the small infant in the chair. His face was blank. Without another word, he turned and went back to his own chair.

"Better keep an eye on Mercy." muttered Ron.

"I've got dozens of people in here not tearing their sight from over here, I've got plenty of help in that aspect. Now...if I can just get Mercy to finish this last spoonful." said Harry.

"Blrrrrbbb!" said Mercy sticking out her tongue and spraying Harry's glasses with the mashed peas.

"Not what I wanted you to do." said Harry as he took his glasses off his face to wipe them clean.

The people around laughed loudly, as well as Mercy. Harry put on a frown, but his eyes were shimmering mischievously. "Alright, I guess shortcake doesn't want any applesauce, shortcake must be full if she's giving me back the food..."

"Nah!" said Mercy waving over at the small bowl of applesauce.

"But you didn't finish your peas...doesn't that mean that baby is full?" said Harry teasingly.

"Mnyah!" squealed Mercy fussing loudly.

"Come here then..." said Harry. He picked Mercy up and held her in his arms. "Here's some applesauce."

"I'm sort of amazed that Mercy is eating mashed food already." said Hermione.

"Not really, Ginny and I were eating solid food after five months." said Ron.

"Wizarding babies tend to grow a little faster than muggle babies, they get their new teeth, hair and talk a lot sooner, we also live a lot longer." said Angelina.

"So that's why Mercy can eat mashed food already?" said Hermione.

"She still likes her bottle, Mrs. Weasley said that they don't outgrow that for a few more months." said Harry. "But I'm kind of sad that she's going to grow up really quick."

As the last few first years were being sorted, Harry gave Mercy her bottle.

"You might be able to enjoy dinner tonight." said Ginny.

"Not if Mercy becomes fussy, then I'm going to just take a few sandwiches with me and go to bed." said Harry. "I don't know if Mercy's going to like sleeping in a new place."

"She should be fine." said Fred as the last person was sorted.

Dumbledore stood up and held his hands up to silence the chatter.

"Alas, this year I may have to keep you waiting a bit longer for the delectable feast that awaits us. I have one pressing announcement to make. This year, and hopefully for a few years to come, we will have with us young Mercy. She will be residing in Gryffindor Tower..."

"Ahem." came a cough from the staff table. A witch with a wide mouth and slightly bulging eyes wearing a fluffy pink cardigan waved her hand. "Do you think this is wise..._Potter_...is in Gryffindor house."

"Which is precisely why she is going to stay in Gryffindor." said Dumbledore with a smile.

"I think she would be best taken care of in..." said the witch.

"I'm afraid that what can be done with Mercy, is not up to you." said McGonagall shortly.

"We shall see..." said the witch with a smirk.

"Who's Miss Personality?" asked Hermione.

"That's Madam Umbridge." said Ginny. "She's a real bitch. She's always putting down dad, not right out like Malfoy, but sort of subtly."

"Well, she can try all she likes to try and take Mercy, but I set some things in motion before I came to Grimmauld Place." said Harry with a sneer.

" What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"Oh...just something that might be labeled as a fail-safe, if even Dumbledore tried to take her from me permanently." said Harry.

"As I was saying, Miss Mercy will be residing in Gryffindor House and I hope that the rest of the school will treat her carefully. Now, since she has already preceded us in eating, let us all take in some repast." said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes. He clapped his hand and the tables became full of food of various types.

"Finally, I'm starving!" said Ron eagerly as he grabbed a few drumsticks.

"Really, you'd never realize that." said Hermione with a smirk.

Harry held onto Mercy and fed her a bottle full of warm milk, rocking her back and forth in his chair.

"She's so cute." said Katie cooing.

"I think I'm going to just take some food with me, she's going to need to be changed and then put to bed." said Harry. "She got up pretty early this morning."

He took a few pieces of fruit, a wrapped up slices of treacle and a few chicken legs in a conjured paper bag and began to walk out of the Great Hall.

"Hold on, Potter." said the sickening voice of Umbridge.

Harry turned to face the Head table, Snape was rolling his eyes, Flitwick was burying his face, Sprout was shaking her head and McGonagall was glaring at the woman.

"Can I help you ma'am?" said Harry politely.

"I think it would be safer for the infant if I were to take her." said Umbridge with a toad like smile.

"I don't think so." said Harry.

"Well, what you think, really has no weight here." said Umbridge, the smile still fixed on her face.

"Actually, what I says, in regards to Mercy, is law." said Harry with a smirk. "Night all."

And before she could even raise her wand to stop him, he closed the large of the Great Hall, and left with Mercy in his arms.

"What did he mean by that?" said Umbridge, her smile gone from her lips as she turned to address the head table.

"I think you'll find out for yourself." said McGonagall taking her wineglass in hand and smiling.

* * *

Harry opened the door to his dorm, he found that the room was just the same as it always was, there was now a little door off to the side, with a small cartoonish lion cub with a little pink bow on it's head was playing on a multicolored ball.

"Well, let's take a guess whose room that's supposed to be." said Harry with a smile down to the yawning infant. "Looks like someone is ready for bed."

He opened the door and saw a baby bassinet with little twinkling stars chiming against each other overhead. There were plenty of toys, stuffed animals, child storybooks, and even a nightlight in the corner, there was also a little changing table and rocking chair beside the window. On the other side of the room, there was a little porcelain wash basin for Harry to give Mercy a bath in. The teachers, Dumbledore and the house-elves must have gone all out getting this ready for Mercy. In the opposite corner, there was a large bed where Harry was to sleep, almost the same as the one in the dorms where he used to sleep.

"There you go sweetheart, you got a nice little nursery to play in." said Harry with a smile. He set her down in the playpen and took out all the clothes from her trunk and put them in the drawers. While he worked on organizing her things, Mercy played with the soft toys that were in the pen with her.

"There we go...you're all unpacked, let's give you a bath, put you into your sleeper and get you all ready for bed." said Harry as he picked up Mercy and placed her on the changing table.

"Mrrrrbbbbapple!" gurgled the baby happily.

"There we go." said Harry filled the basin with warm water. He tested the water and then placed Mercy gently inside. She began to smack the water with her hands and douse the man that was trying to give her a bath.

"Alright, alright, guess Daddy needs a bath too..." said Harry with a smile.

Once he was done, he wrapped Mercy in a fluffy pink towel. "All clean!"

"Abba Kee!" said Mercy happily.

"Already starting to talk like Daddy huh? Better not swear around you then." said Harry with a chuckle.

Harry then dressed Mercy in his little pink sleeper and carried her over to the rocking chair. "Now, do you want a lullaby or story?" mused Harry thoughtfully. He reached up and grabbed a thin book called Magical Nursery Tales: By Celestial Dall. "Let's read you a wizard nursery rhyme, never read one before myself."

Harry opened the book with Mercy in the crook of his other arm.

"Let's see...well...it's not Mother Goose..." said Harry.

_Fairy Light, Fairy Light. _

_Shine so bright throughout the night. _

_Fairy Light, Fairy Light_

_Make a wish, with all your might. _

_To come so true, this very night. _

Harry looked at the page adjacent to it and saw there was more text.

"Huh, look Mercy this rhyme has a story that goes with it." said Harry.

_There once was a pair of children, named Alder and Helena, and lived in a deep forest with their mother and father. They often would travel into the forest with their father and help him pick herbs for their mother's potions. Their father always told them to never stray from the path, if they lost it, they might never come out of the woods, so they were adamant about their father's words. _

_One day, their father became very ill, and the potion that they needed to make used an ingredient that they didn't have in their cupboard. Their mother didn't know what to do, she couldn't leave the potion, but someone needed to go and get the herb. _

"_Mother, we can go and get it!" said Helena._

"_We've seen Father go and gather herbs before." said Alder _

"_But this isn't like monkshood or wolfsbane, these are Fairy Tails" said their mother firmly. _

"_Fairy Tails?" asked Alder. _

"_It's an herb that grows deep in the forest, but it's not easy to find. It disappears and reappears every so often in a different place in the forest." said their mother. _

"_What do Fairy Tails look like?" asked Helena. _

"_They're small, about the size of your finger, and they grow on the side of trees. You'll know them when you see them, they glow a bright blue when the light doesn't hit them. But you'll need to pick them quick when you see them." said their mother. _

"_Because they'll disappear?" said Helena._

"_Because if any other creature sees them, they'll eat them. Fairy Tails are very sweet and animals love to eat them, and if a fairy should come across them, they'll take all of them and you won't be able to see them in another spot in the forest for weeks." said their mother. "Find them before anything else does." _

"_But the sun is shining mother, how are we going to be able to see them faster if it's sunny outside?" asked Alder._

"_Take this with you, it'll make the area around you dark for a few moments. You'll be able to see it easier with this, but remember, the animals don't need darkness to see it, they can smell it. Now, go, before your father gets any worse." said their mother as she handed them a small red velvet pouch. "And here's some food and water if you get hungry or thirsty. Be back before nightfall, I don't want you children in the woods after dark." _

_The children then left the house, while their mother took care of the potion and their father. _

"_Alder, I'm scared, we've never been in the woods without father." said Helena. looking worriedly at the fearsome looking forest. _

"_Don't worry, we'll find that Fairy Tails herb and we'll be back before dark." said Alder. _

_For hours they looked in the forest, but they couldn't find a single trace of the Fairy Tail herb. The sun was beginning to finally set into the west, and Helena wanted to go back home and try again the next day. _

_'Come on Alder, we need to get home." said Helena. _

"_Just a little longer, if we wait for it to get a little darker, we'll be able to see the herb's easier." said Alder. _

"_But mother said...wait...what was that?" said Helena pointing to a darker section of the woods. _

_There was a glint of blue light in the distance. _

"_That's it!" said Alder racing off to get the herb. _

"_But Alder! The path!" said Helena chasing after her brother..._

Harry looked down at the sleeping bundle in his arms. He stood up and placed her carefully in the bassinet.

"Good night shortcake." said Harry. "We'll finish the story another night." He leaned over the bassinet and kissed his daughter goodnight. He turned and sat back down in the rocking chair and kept a silent vigil over his daughter.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Question of the Chapter: Let's see, _What is the one show that is your guilty pleasure? _Guilty pleasure as in, it may be aimed for little kids or the show itself is just so stupid you don't know why you watch it all the time? Mine...ooh...gotta be fair and put it out there or no one else will...I like that show Sophia the First. I KNOW IT'S PRESCHOOL ORIENTATED, but the show is just so cute and I'm a sucker for the voice of King Roland- Travis Willingham.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this chapter is so short, didn't mean for it to be so short. The Struggle To Salvation chapter was just pissing me off and I couldn't come up with anything super cute and fluffy. **

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next day, Harry loaded up his books and a diaper bag of items he would need for her during the day into the pouches of the large baby stroller that Dumbledore had supplied him. He changed Mercy into her little Hogwarts uniform to signify the first day of school and just in case, packed another outfit in case she decided to be adventurous.

He buckled her into the stroller and pushed her out into the dorm.

"Mornin' Harry." said Neville and Ron.

"Morning..." said Harry.

"She didn't cry last night, I didn't hear a peep." said Ron. "I warned the guys that it might get a bit loud during the night."

"She woke up a time or two, there's just a silencing charm on the room so you don't hear." said Harry. "McGonagall must have put that up."

"Cool little school uniform she's got." said Dean. "Hey, Seamus, check this out."

Seamus however didn't look at Mercy, Harry or any of the others, all he did was walk out of the dorm quickly and go downstairs for breakfast.

"What's his problem?" asked Harry.

"He...His mother buys into what the Prophet says." said Ron looking at Harry nervously, unsure if he was going to yell or not.

"Is that right, and what's his opinion?" asked Harry.

"He...he sides with his mum...for some strange reason..." said Dean. "We know fully well, that you aren't a nutter or attention seeking, but the nitwit still thinks that you are what they say you are."

Harry looked at Dean, and then the door that Seamus left out of. "Hmm, ah well...can't be helped."

Ron blinked "Why aren't you mad? I was expecting you to be royally pissed, and shouting up a storm!"

"Losing Grace put a lot of things in perspective for me, getting mad at something only an idiot would believe is really not worth me getting upset over." said Harry with a shrug. "I'm still ticked and I'd give anything to give him a swift kick up the ass, but if I get angry and start shouting, that'll only scare Mercy and it'll only give them leverage over me and her."

"Them? Who's them?" asked Neville.

"The Ministry, and anyone trying to pull strings in the Ministry." said Harry.

Ron, Dean, and Neville stared at Harry.

"Come on, let's go to breakfast." said Harry.

* * *

As they came down the stairs, Mercy's baby stroller floating down the stairs smoothly. Harry kept a firm grip on the handles and Ron and Neville walked alongside it and Dean walked in front of it, just to make sure she didn't fall.

Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George were waiting for them in the Common Room.

"Ready for meal time?" asked George with a cutesy face.

"Why are you waiting for us?" asked Ron suspiciously.

"We don't wanna miss out on babykins's first Hogwarts breakfast." said Fred.

"Good lord, Mercy. I think you've got two fans here." said Harry adjusting Mercy's little bow.

"Come on, I'm starving here." said Ron. "Let's get going."

They walked down to the Great Hall, attracting cooing sounds from the portraits as they saw Mercy for the first time in the daylight.

"_Well, isn't she just a little cutie!" _said one painting of a witch sitting beside a gently flowing river.

"_Oh, you just want to pinch her little cheeks." _said a portrait of a wizard writing in a book.

"You are just attracting so much attention..." said Harry as he tapped Mercy's nose lightly.

"Nngah!" said Mercy trying to bat at Harry's hand.

As they entered the Great Hall, the once fluttering chatter that danced across the hall stopped and everyone looked at them.

"What's with the silent treatment?" asked George.

"Who cares." said Harry. "I'm hungry, and so is Mercy."

As they sat down and began to dig into their breakfast, Harry placed some applesauce onto her little highchair plate. McGonagall began to hand out the schedules for each of the Gryffindor students. As she made her way down to the group she looked directly at Harry as she handed out the schedules.

"Mr. Potter, you'll have both Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions class this morning." said McGonagall. "The Headmaster is all ready for her if you want to let him take her for the morning, and then give her back to you at tea time."

"Sure...uh...where's Hagrid?" asked Harry as he scanned the Head table.

"He has not returned from his...trip...please don't dwell or worry about it." said McGonagall swiftly, though not harshly. "Now...remember, Granger, Weasley, Potter, Longbottom...this is your O.W.L. year, I expect you all to be diligent in your studies, if you need any assistance or if you would like to know what sort of tests you need to take for the career choice you would like to make please come to me."

"But what if our career choice isn't an option with the classes we've already taken?" asked Neville.

"It's not really a big deal if that happens." said Fred.

"Then you just take a remedial course during your Saturdays and then sit in for the test when the end of the year comes." said George.

"Alicia did that when she found out that she needed an Arithmacy class. She sat in for the class, and then the test, she dropped History of Magic and took up that so it was free on her schedule.' said Fred.

"I still have no idea how she managed to get an O on her History test, everyone else was pretty much passed out asleep for that." said George.

"Now, I'm assuming it's just me, but why is everyone all quiet?" asked Harry.

"I think they were surprised that you stood up to a teacher so early in the year." said Hermione.

"It might perhaps be that, but it also might be that she received an owl about your custody of Mercy and she was not happy that there was nothing she could do." said McGonagall.

"I went through proper channels, got complete and full custody of Mercy in the muggle courts, which if there is a wizard involved, carries over to the magical world automatically and irrevocably." said Harry with a smirk. "Unless they go down a different path than what I think they may go down."

"That's a big word coming out of your mouth." said Ron staring at his best friend.

"If the Ministry of Magic wants to contest my custody, they'll have to go to the Muggle world, go through the courts and prove that I'm an unfit parent. Which in itself will be hard to do." said Harry.

"How?" asked Hermione.

"Well, I may or may not have done something that could prove that I'm a mature and a pretty smart individual." said Harry.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"I forget." said Harry with a teasing smile.

"That's not fair." said Hermione with a pout. "You'll tell us later right?'

"If I can remember." said Harry. "But the chances of them convincing the muggle courts that I'm unbalanced, a liar and a danger to children is going to be harder than trying to convince Dumbledore to give up sweets."

"Well, then that'll never happen." said Fred.

"Yeah, I went through a long process just to get that safety net in place." said Harry with a bright smile. "I'm glad that it's holding...but how would the students know that she wasn't happy?" asked Harry.

" She screamed and stamped her feet...it was kind of embarrassing." said Ginny.

"Hilarious though." said Ron.

"I hope she just lets it drop and moves on, but then again, this is the Ministry..." said Harry rolling his eyes. "What do you think, Mercy, ready to go and play with Godpapa?" asked Harry.

"You sure you're okay with leaving her with him?" asked Ginny.

"He'll have to handle a screaming toddler till she turns eighteen. He'll throw in the towel after the second class." said Harry. "Though with the toys and not being gone for days at a time, there shouldn't be much of a scream fest."

After he tidied up Mercy and finished his breakfast, he walked Mercy up to the Head table and dropped off the baby stroller. Dumbledore smiled at both Harry and Mercy as they came closer.

He was a bit more trusting since Jerome showed him the paternity scroll. If she was a plant or even a fake, the scroll would have shown him. Also, to get back into the boy's good graces he was more than willing to watch the little toddler for an hour or two. When Harry was at school, and not eating, he felt his heart constrict and guilt rip through his body every time he went to go and talk to the lad. He had to get Harry to trust him again, to once more have the close bond that they once had together.

He was honored, no, far beyond that, when Harry said that he was the godfather of his first born. To think...despite all the mistakes that he had so obviously made with the boy, Harry still held him in such high regard that he was the one he turned to to be the godfather. Over his friend Ronald on top of that! Over Remus, over Sirius, over anyone else closer to his age...Dumbledore was honestly touched.

"Good morning, how are the two of you today?" asked Dumbledore with a warm smile.

"I'm fine, and so is she. Everything she needs is in the stroller, I'll take her back at tea time, unless the teachers call her too much of a distraction..." said Harry.

"They'll contact me if she is and I'll come and fetch her." said Dumbledore with a smile as he took the infant into his arms, for the first time. She was such a light weight upon his arms, yet...instead of crying loudly just as she had for the others at Headquarters...she gurgled happily and looked up at him.

"I told her all about you, even showed her your Famous Witch or Wizard card. She's known you for a long time." said Harry with a small smile. "Though...I would...never mind."

He winced as Mercy tugged on Dumbledore's beard with her little hand.

* * *

Dumbledore placed Mercy down in a little bassinet that he conjured out of one of his chairs and placed a the small lion cub that she had in her stroller in it with her. Fawkes, seeing the new arrival flapped over to the bassinet and peered in.

"This is Mercy, Fawkes, Harry's daughter..." said Dumbledore stroking Fawkes feathers.

"We want to see her too!" said a few of the portraits.

"She just needs to rest for a little bit." said Dumbledore. "She was yawning and falling asleep on the way up here."

Fawkes peered into the bassinet closely and then carefully fluttered down into it, settling with care near the babe.

Dumbledore stared, he had seen Fawkes do this to one other person and really one other person only. Fawkes had assumed this position when Harry was a baby while they were both visiting. The phoenix could always be found snuggling down with Harry and keeping the youngster safe and warm beneath his feathers.

A knock came to his attention and he looked over and saw Filius come in.

"I know you only have her for a a few hours, but I found some magical storybooks for you to read to her." said Filius. "They should keep her nice and happy."

"She's taking a bit of a nap right now." said Dumbledore looking down and smiling at the baby.

Filius looked at Dumbledore's doting appearance to the infant in the bassinet. "So, do you still believe she's a creature of You-Know-Who?"

"Jerome told me otherwise, and if anyone knows Dark magic and how to heal it, it's Jerome...and Severus...but Jerome would never go down the path that Tom has gone. Though...Mercy is still a danger to Harry..."

"As bait." said Filius nodding. "But as long as it's either you or Potter looking after her, she shouldn't be kidnapped so easily. Potter's become a bit a real lion when it comes to her. I don't know if I would want to threaten her in his presence."

"It seems he has some latent abilities that he didn't feel comfortable showing the rest of us, perhaps that will change this year." said Dumbledore. "Thank you for the books, I'm sure that she will find those most enjoyable."

* * *

However, Umbridge was rereading her letter that she received last night with shaking hands. How could the Ministry be unable to take custody of the child? Why were their hands tied?

Well, no matter, there was still a card she could play. All it would take is a note to the right people and Potter would be inspected and closely monitored. They would see what Potter was up to, and then that child would be removed...for it's own good of course.

She needed to get an owl out right away, before he can get too many people to raise the child for him, and broaden his support system.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review!**

**Spring has FINALLY arrived, god that winter was long. Though I don't know why it feels like that, we still didn't have any snow when Christmas was around. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Whew, it didn't get to sleep till about two or so in the morning. I'm going to need to take some Melatonin tonight so I don't lose any sleep before work tomorrow. **

**I don't own Harry Potter. **

* * *

Dumbledore rocked the small infant in his arms as she nursed on a pink bottle. Before the school had even started, Umbridge was (for the want of a better word) concerned that with an infant around, he would neglect his duties to the school, however that was not the case. As he rocked her, he dictated what he wanted to write in several letters to several people, signed and sealed the necessary official documents and looked over school papers. How parents in the Muggle world juggled their work without magic seemed an daunting task, and that only caused him to show admiration to their culture.

As most of the Headmasters and Headmistresses of the past cooed over the infant, one in particular wasn't as enthused and decided to spend more time at his other painting than in the office. He seemed to side with Umbridge that a babe was only going to put a damper on progress during the school year...ah well..he always was a bit of a grouch.

"Gah!" cooed Mercy as she stopped nursing and tugged lightly on Dumbledore's beard.

"Oh! You certainly do enjoy doing that...much like your father and grandfather did when they were your age." said Dumbledore removing his beard carefully from her grasp. "It seems my more selfish wish of them having a beard and allowing their children to pull on it seems to have gone unfulfilled."

Mercy only patted on Dumbledore's fingers and giggled.

Dumbledore smiled down at the toddler, but then, his eyes began to mist.

"I am sorry...about your mother..." said Dumbledore, his voice laced with emotion. "If I had...only taken the time...you'd have her in your young life as well...But...I was too preoccupied, I'm very sorry. As your Godfather, I promise that I will make it up to you, and to Harry."

A knocking came at the door.

"Come in." said Dumbledore taking the bottle in hand and coaxing Mercy to start drinking again.

The door opened and in came the Minister of Magic himself, along with Madam Bones and a severe looking witch with a large black handbag in her hands.

"Ah, Fudge, Madam Bones...to what do I owe this pleasure?" asked Dumbledore.

"I've come for the baby." said Fudge swiftly.

"And I've told you repeatedly, Cornelius. You cannot just walk in and take any child that you want." said Madam Bones.

"She's right, you need a valid reason to take custody of a child. Being Minister doesn't give you the liberty to traipse over regulations and laws and let you take what you want, when you want." said the severe looking woman. "Her parentage is not a reason that will hold in any court; if it was, Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy would have lost their children in a heartbeat during the War."

"Lucius..." said Fudge angrily.

"Please...lower your voices." said Dumbledore standing up and walking over to the window with Mercy in his arms. "I would prefer her not to start crying."

"It has come to my attention that Harry is the parent of this little one." said the Minister doing his best to look authoritative. "I need..."

The stern looking woman coughed into her hand. "_I _need to see if he is a...well, if he is mature and capable of raising of a child. Afternoon, Headmaster Dumbledore, I'm Mrs. Abigail Trunchton, I work with the International Department of Welfair for Magical Children. Normally the local branch would be more than adequate for something like this, but this being _Harry Potter _and all..."

"Exactly, this is Harry Potter. Have you heard some of the stories that comes out of him? You really need to spend more than five minutes in assessing that he's not capable of raising a child, if ever?" said Fudge with a dry laugh.

Mrs. Trunchton rolled her eyes. "The only thing I've heard thus far about Harry Potter is what that lying cow of a reporter has printed in the Daily Prophet. It should be common sense that whatever she writes is far from the truth and should be taken with with more than a grain of salt. Now as the more recent things in the Daily Prophet...all I see is a bunch adults acting like bullying children. I think you should pray that Potter, _being _a member of that distinguished family, doesn't sue you and the Prophet for slander. It's not so much of a chance that you _didn't _green light and encourage them to bully the boy."

"Regardless of the way that the Wizarding world are trying to railroad him, I will do my job...professionally, above board and unbiasedly to see if Potter is mentally, physically, and emotionally able to care for the child." said Mrs. Trunchton.

Dumbledore smiled at the woman. "Thank you Mrs. Trunchton, a refreshing change as of late, it's a pleasure to meet you. So...if Harry is more than capable of caring for Mercy?" said Dumbledore.

"Then he will continue to have full custody. He has already been granted custody in the Muggle World, but here...if he cannot, then he will lose custody of the child for most of the year while he is in school, but will retain custody during the summer." said Truchton. "She will be in Ministry custody, until we can find a guardian for her."

"I am labeled as her godfather..." said Dumbledore. "Would the guardianship not come to me?"

"There will have to be a hearing, but if you are her godfather, than she will only be in custody for a week or two. Then I suppose I'll have to come back and see how you do. Unfortunately, if custody is lost to Potter, the infant will have to stay away from him, perhaps we can wrangle it that he has her on the weekends for visitation, but you will be the primary caregiver during the school year."

"Understood." said Dumbledore.

"B-But..." said Fudge. "Either one of them is a poor choice! I know of several families that would be more than adequate in taking care of her. Lucius himself has offered the child asylum in his manor, his wife has been constantly asking him if the child has been removed or not yet..."

"The child is half-muggle. We do not even know if she possess the magical strength to come to school when she has become of age...We cannot just throw her into the wizarding world and leave her with a magical family, you know what some families do to squibs...Potter is her legal guardian in the muggle world, there is no disputing that. This is to see if he may have guardianship of her in the magical world." said Mrs. Trunchton. "Now, will the baby be in your care for the entire day?" she asked looking at Dumbledore.

"Oh no, when it comes to be lunchtime, she will be returned to Harry. He has Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning, since Delores expressed a desire to have Mercy elsewhere and the fumes in the Potions classroom is not suitable for her." said Dumbledore.

Good, I will observe Potter till I can make a decision, no matter how long it takes." said the woman taking out a clipboard. She walked over to the infant and peered into the bassinet where Dumbledore had placed her. "On the surface, she seems to be well taken care of. She's clothed, fed and well taken care of."

"He took the time to make a Hogwarts uniform especially for her, if that is any proof to how devoted he is to her." said Dumbledore trying to secure the groundings so that Mercy was not ripped from Harry again. After the last time...he lost any desire to attempt at separating them.

Fudge gave a derisive snort, but took a step forward. "I'll assist if I may, Abigail."

"I would rather you not, and it's _Mrs. Trunchton_." said Mrs. Trunchton sharply. "My findings don't need to be biased."

"I would not be biased!" said Fudge quickly.

"Do you have some strange amnesia that causes you to forget more than two minutes ago?" asked Mrs. Truchton. "I will do the assessment on my own, just as I've done for over the last fifty years."

* * *

As Fudge and Umbridge looked firmly down to the father and daughter duo, Mrs. Trunchton was asking Harry several questions, (unfortunately they couldn't hear what was being said) and Harry was asking her questions about raising children in the magical world.

"Are there any vaccines that I need to give her for the wizarding world?" asked Harry as he bounced Mercy on his knee.

"Vaccines?" asked Mrs. Trunchton.

"Uh...something that can stop a baby from getting sick." said Harry. "She got her vaccines to help her in the muggle world...what about the wizarding world?"

"You'll want Madam Pomfrey to cast a few spells to protect against most illness that come across infants." said Mrs. Trunchton.

With a quick word to his friends, assuring that he would meet them in class, Harry bundled up Mercy and walked out of the Great Hall. Mrs. Trunchton had a small smile on her face and wrote a note on her clipboard..

_Asks questions, listens and heeds advice from elders, is concerned about long term care about infant, not just what is on the surface. Concerned about health first and foremost. _

After he came back from the Hospital Ward, he met up with Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Trunchton in Transfiguration. Mrs. Trunchton was asking the other children that had seen Potter with the infant how he was, and was given positive reviews, though a few snarky comments from the rival house Slytherin. He found that he was a few minutes late, so McGonagall looked up over to him. A frown on her face.

"Thank you for joining us Mr. Potter." said McGonagall. "I should hope that this won't be a trend."

"No ma'am, it won't." said Harry quickly.

"I apologize, Professor McGonagall, his tardiness is due to me." said Mrs. Truchton. "I suggested he take Mercy to the school Healer for some booster spells."

"Nevertheless, he should have found another time to do whatever it was, or Mercy could have been taken to the Headmaster once she was done." said McGonagall looking at Harry directly.

"Yes ma'am." said Harry setting the brakes on the stroller so she couldn't roll away.

Mrs. Trunchton watched as despite everyone's attention strictly on McGonagall, Harry deviated from the Transfiguration teacher and her warning about the upcoming O.W.L's to keeping Mercy reasonably happy and quiet. She held some regret that she had gotten the boy in trouble, but a twinge of something bolted through her when he didn't place the blame on the baby, but merely said that he wouldn't do it again.

Was it pride? Perhaps. Was it some slight test that not even she knew that she put him through, that was also another possibility...she had a tendency to do that. Potter didn't just hand off the baby when it was more convenient for his plans of the day, he simply took the hit that he should plan the day better. If he had told Madam Pomfrey to take Mercy to Dumbledore's office, it wouldn't have been awful, it would have been alright and she wouldn't have thought less of him. The fact that he had such a sturdy support system in the school was beneficial not only to his studies, but also to the little girl. The more people she was given interaction to...it would only help her.

As Mrs. Trunchton continued to write on her clipboard, she noticed Mercy had taken the pacifier out of her mouth and tossed it into the air, towards the back of Hermione's head. If she hadn't of seen it, she never would have believed it.

Harry had caught the little bauble before it even made it halfway to Hermione. He turned to look at her with a slight smirk on his face. He wagged his finger and tapped her gently on the nose.

"No tossing things at Aunt Hermione with her back to you." said Harry with a smile. "Not that you understand that rule right now." he added still smiling with a mutter.

Mrs. Trunchton smiled. So far, he was proving to be a fine guardian. As a father...she'll have to see about that...and she may be keeping an eye on Potter for a little while longer to prove that to her.

* * *

Days had turned into weeks, Mrs. Trunchton had continued her observations of Harry and Mercy and continuously writing down observations. Almost every evening at dinner time, Umbridge and Fudge (he was showing up once a day now to see if she had made a decision) would ask her if she had made a choice about the guardianship of the baby. Trunchton had told them time and time again, and was visibly getting perturbed by the constant pestering.

"When I have made a decision, you will be informed, _after _Potter." said Mrs. Trunchton firmly as she closed the clasp of her purse with a snap.

"This is not going as well as planned, he already seems to have been automatically given a passing grade by Trunchton." muttered Fudge.

"She's still here, there might be still a chance to take the child." said Umbridge as she gave a disdainful sniff. "I, for one, would be a much better guardian then Potter, she'd be safe, and given all the love and proper appreciation for her betters."

"I agree that she would be much safer and would benefit greatly from being in Ministry custody." said Fudge stroking his chin softly. "But if we try to meddle in her affairs, it could go very badly for us."

"But if we don't...if we can just force Potter to show his true colors, it will be worth the risk." said Madam Umbridge. "There are still some fools that believe that dottering old man and that boy, this could be the final push that will discredit them for good."

Fudge looked down at his Senior Undersecretary, a frown on his face.

Harry ate his steak and kidney pie, trying not to look and laugh at the predicament that the twins found themselves in. Mercy had a firm grasp of a tuft of both of their hair and was refusing to let go.

"Come on little bunny, let go of Unkie Fred's hair." said Fred trying to coax the toddler's fingers to let go.

"Forget Unkie Fred, let your favorite Uncle Georgie's hair go." said George.

"Lend a hand will you?" asked Fred looking at Harry out of the corner of his eye.

"Mercy, want to let go of their hair and come to daddy?" said Harry as he took a large bite of pie and extended his arms.

Mercy turned around and smiled, and released George and Fred's hair immediately as she extended her hands towards him. Harry reached forward and took Mercy.

"Oh, my poor scalp." said Fred rubbing his skull.

"Someone's being naughty aren't they?" said Harry rubbing noses with Mercy.

Mercy giggled and reached for the small bowl of chocolate pudding that had just arrived.

"Oh no you don't, that's your favorite and I know it. No pudding for you tonight, you can have a mashed banana though. Here you go, knock yourself out." said Harry taking a bit of banana and began mashing it with a spoon.

"Ding!" said Mercy pointing to the bowl of pudding.

"Nuh uh..nana." said Harry pointing to the cream colored mush.

"Don't be mean Harry, she didn't know it was wrong." said Hermione with a smile.

"Glad you think that, cause I didn't really tell her off when she tried throwing her paci into your hair." said Harry with a laugh as Hermione ran her fingers through the back of her hair quickly.

Mercy pushed her small plate away and continued to reach for the pudding. Harry pulled the plate back and with a sly smile, he took a finger full of the banana mush and began to eat it.

"No!" said Mercy putting her small hands on plate before her.

"No? I thought you didn't want it?" said Harry with a smile.

"Bad Daddy!" said Mercy with a pout.

Harry stared at the little girl in shock, while the table around erupted into laughter.

"Where did she learn that?" said Harry looking at the others who were howling with laughter. "Who taught her that?"

"I think that was Remus." said Ron wiping away the tears.

Ginny leaned over and whispered, despite the giggles escaping her mouth. "When you went out to get her baby food, Snuffles turned into Padfoot and rolled around the carpet with her. Mum got a little upset when she rolled right into a pouch of octopus powder."

"Well, who left the octopus powder on the floor?" asked Harry.

"That would be Fred, it was in his pocket, then it fell out. At least it wasn't some of the illegal stuff we had." said George.

"You're _lucky _it wasn't anything illegal, I'd be going after you both with your own Beater bats." said Harry. "So Remus said Bad...Snuffles?"

"He sure did, it was hilarious." said Ron. "While Mum went to get her a new outfit, Remus told Sirius off, though he didn't sound all that sincere."

"Hmm...so I can blame this on Remus...that's good to know." said Harry as he smiled at Mercy. She had her tiny spoon full of the mush and giggled happily, completely forgetting the brown bowl sitting in a little ways ahead of her.

"She doesn't have a good memory yet does she?" asked Dean.

"She's not even a year old, memory will come with age...and frankly, it makes it sort of easier on me when she wants something and she can't have it." said Harry.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small trail of sparks come crawling across the ground and stopped somewhere behind him.

"What the...?" asked Harry.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted behind Harry and Mercy. Harry instinctively pulled Mercy, who was crying and screaming, towards his chest and covered her completely with his arms. He felt his back become riddled with what felt like thousands of white hot knives.

"Harry!" came the shout of several voices, but then the voices, lights and everything else faded away into blackness.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Question of the Chapter! Hmm...what was the latest release movie you just bought? **

**I just got The Hobbit, Battle of Five Armies, I didn't get to see it in theaters, as I only go to the movie theater once a year, and this past years choice was not The Hobbit (though I wanted to so very badly) instead I went to Into the Woods...groan...wasn't worth the ticket price. Sad thing is, I love musicals...but this one...oi...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, I noticed, and I really just dismissed it earlier, but when I asked for answers to the Question of the Chapter, I used to put the one I liked the best on the top of the next chapter. I haven't done that in a while, so I PROMISE I will from now own. **

**Last time's question. What was the last latest release movie you bought?**

**Revelation Rebel: I saw Cinderella (2015), definitely worth the ticket price!**

**Zeropolis79: Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 1**

**Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore: I think the last movie I saw that was release not too long ago was "The Fault in Our Stars." I truly did love the moive and I'm thinking of purchasing it in the near future.**

**Yay! Good answers!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Immediately after the explosion, Dumbledore and McGonagall raced down to where Harry lay. He was lying on his side, with a crying Mercy in his arms, trying to pat his face with her hands to wake him up. The back of his robes sliced almost to ribbons and crimson blood pooling down onto the floor. His arms were still wrapped around Mercy, keeping her safe in his arms.

The other Gryffindors were trying to get close to him, to check if he was alright and if Mercy was uninjured, but something kept them back. It was as if there was a large invisible bubble surrounding the two of them and keeping everyone else at bay.

Dumbledore waved his wand in a complex pattern, working hard to dispel the barrier that kept them from giving the boy and infant aid. Agonizing moments passed and then a shower of sparkles fell around the figures. Dumbledore knelt beside the fallen teen, and carefully pried the child out of the tense grip.

"Hold on, just hold on." said Dumbledore, he turned and handed the screaming infant to Snape who held her a little ways away from himself and then passed her to Professor Sprout.

Madam Pomfrey came hurrying over and after inspecting the baby quickly, knelt down to the Harry and inspected his back. She took her wand and waved it slowly over his back, healing most of the large jagged cuts in his skin. Mercy was starting to whimper and wave her hands towards her fallen parent.

"How did this happen?" asked Hermione looking down at Harry horrified.

"I'll tell you how it happened." said Mrs. Trunchton sourly. "Someone had sent a firecracker charm towards this small packet on the ground." She nudged the remains of a small cloth pouch on the floor. Everyone stared at the pouch in shock.

"Did you happen to see where the spell came from, or who dropped the pouch?" asked Flitwick as he conjured multi-colored bubbles to entertain the little girl.

"I unfortunately did not. I saw the charm go sparking along the floor, and then the explosion, if I hadn't followed the spark with my own eyes, I wouldn't even have noticed the pouch." said Mrs. Trunchton. "Is Mercy alright?"

"She's fine, it's Potter that's in pain right now." said Madam Pomfrey as she continued to heal the teen's back, pulling small bits of debris out of his skin, his face lax but a slight tightness between his brows. Once she was done, she levitated him onto a stretcher and lead him out of the Great Hall.

Mrs. Trunchton followed the floating teen out of the Hall with her eyes, but then again a commotion to her left caused her to break her gaze.

"What are you doing?" asked Professor Sprout holding the baby close to her bosom.

"Potter is in no condition to care for the child." said Professor Umbridge with a simpering smile. "She'll have to be put in Ministry custody."

"You're forgetting," said Dumbledore, his gaze firm. "_I _am Mercy's godfather. She is going to stay with me."

The students stared at the Headmaster and then back to the baby, they had heard the rumors, but to have it proven right to their face...

"The child is in too much danger around Potter, don't you agree, Mrs. Trunchton?" said Fudge looking at the woman who was apparently signing something furiously.

"Absolutely..." said Mrs. Trunchton.

"See!" said Fudge with a smile.

"...not." said Mrs. Trunchton sternly.

"Wait..." said Fudge. "What?"

"I had been monitoring Potter for quite a few days now, and I was unsure if he had what it took to be a father, a wonderful guardian is what I found him to be, but a father is more than someone that had a child parttime, they had to be able to set aside their entire being for the child. And he had." said Mrs. Trunchton.

The Minister and Umbridge stared.

"He's proven that he will be a wonderful father, he'll have full custody of Mercy in the wizarding world." said Mrs. Trunchton.

Fudge looked flabberghasted, while Umbridge was livid.

Harry felt at peace despite the throbbing pain in his back. He was in a nice soft bed with warm blankets covering him, his mind was blank, clear of any thought or worry...there was nothing pressing that forced him to move.

_Mercy_.

Harry's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. A sharp pain emitted from his back and he gasped loudly.

"Lay back down, Mr. Potter, you haven't fully recovered." came Madam Pomfrey's stern voice. There were two pairs of hands pushing back down into the blankets. He looked up and saw the blurry visage of Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. He looked around and saw next to his bed a small playpen with Mercy banging a pair of blocks together.

"What...what happened?" asked Harry.

"You've been injured dear boy, now just calm down." said Dumbledore keeping his hands firmly on the boys' shoulder.

"Mercy..." said Harry looking down at the infant.

"She's just fine, she doesn't have a scratch on her." said Madam Pomfrey. "Now get some rest."

Harry kept his eyes on the little girl, Mercy looked up and giggled towards him.

Harry kept his eyes on her, till his eyelids became too heavy and with a deep breath, he fell back to sleep.

Umbridge and Fudge were having a cup of tea in her office, they would have taken it in the staff room, but they could easily see that they were far from welcomed there.

"Well, that's that." said Fudge. "She gave him the green light...she was the only option open to us."

"I suggest you use the authority you have and remove the child." said Umbridge stirring her cup of tea.

Fudge looked at her confusion. "I cannot, this was the only shot we had. I don't have complete power over Potter or anyone else. I have to go through the proper channels, if I just swoop down and take the child, I risk being removed from office _and _being charged with kidnapping. She deemed him capable of raising the child, how I don't know...but there is nothing I can do."

"We could put it in the paper, get the public opinion..." said Umbridge.

"I've already been getting nasty letters from Mrs. Trunchton's office, Potter's an underage individual and the paper isn't legally supposed to be slamming him the way we've been asking them to. If he decides to, we and the Daily Prophet could be facing a large lawsuit." said Fudge shortly. "If we mention his daughter and some wizard or witch the best intentions in mind comes and takes her right out of Hogwarts, we could be hit with a liability suit. No, we keep it out of the papers, but I have been letting a few people know and have them spread it around...I'm not sure if that was a good idea now or not."

Umbridge looked down at her cup with a slight scowl on her face.

"What we can do now is keep you here and have you keep an eye on her and him. With him bringing her into your class..."

"I don't allow her in here." said Umbridge with a disdainful look.

"You'd better welcome her in here." said Fudge quickly. "If you don't monitor them, then we won't have any footing, though only way we can take her is if we catch wind of neglect or god forbid child abuse. You'll need to be the eyes and ears for us."

Umbridge looked less than impressed, but she nodded.

"Did you happen to discover where that explosion came from?" asked Fudge as he dropped a few cubes of sugar in his tea. "Surely one of students saw what happened."

"No, no one saw the culprit, I would say those delinquents Fred and George Weasley, but they were adamant about not doing any wrong doing." said Umbridge.

"I would have been surprised if they had." said Fudge honestly. "I had met them once during a 'Bring Your Kids to Work Day', they like explosions and everything like that; they don't however send it _near _anyone."

"Hmph." said Umbridge snorting in disbelief.

Harry left the Hospital Wing on Saturday, his back still had twinges of pain, but thanks to a pain relieving potion that Madam Pomfrey had given him, he was ready to get back to classes and get Mercy out of the sterile room and into the bright sunshine.

He _had _planned on playing with Mercy on the grounds, but Angelina (the new Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor) needed the entire team on the pitch and help find a new Keeper. Harry would have given Mercy to Hermione, but she said she had Prefect duties that she needed to take care of and couldn't be outside and if it was okay, she would keep Mercy inside with her.

But the day was so nice and the bitter cold of the changing seasons were going to come fast, and he wanted Mercy to get out and about soon. Ron was going to take part in the tryouts so he was out, Fred and George were the Beaters, thus unavailable and Ginny was on a date with Michael Corner.

Perhaps Dumbledore could take her out for the day.

Dumbledore was more than happy to take her out of the castle and out on the grounds. He was very fond of the little girl and chastised himself severely for ever thinking that the girl was a product of dark magic...though...being cautious about such matters kept one alive...but he should have come up with a different way.

He gathered up the large bag that Harry had packed for her along with set of snacks that he had the house-elves make for her, taking into consideration her allergy Harry had warned him about. He hoped that he would be prepared for any emergency need that she would have...she hadn't had any need for much emergency measures, but one never knew.

Dumbledore strode casually down to the village with Mercy in hand. There was a few minor stops that he had planned to make into the village that day, and with Mercy, he should easily extend them into a few pleasurable hours. If she was just a bit older, he would undoubtedly take her to Honeydukes and as Harry had so cogently put it, spoil her rotten. Alas, she was too young for sweets and he would have to make do with several soft plushy toys and perhaps a little something for Harry to ease the suffering of having a daughter with more toys than she could possibly play with in a lifetime.

He didn't figure in that magnetism that Mercy seemed to possess, it was not a Hogwarts weekend, therefore the customers in the sweetshop were all adults from all over the country, reliving a bit of their childhood by visiting their favorite haunts. The moment they saw the tiny bundle in his arms, they crowded around him and began to coo and ahh over the infant.

"She's absolutely _darling!_" squealed a witch with a large bag of lollies. "Like a little doll!"

"You just want to pinch her little cheeks!" said another witch.

"Look at those sparkling eyes, sign of intelligence that is." said an elderly wizard with a bag of ice mice.

"Don't tell us you finally got around to adopting, Dumbledore!" said another giggling witch as she shook Mercy's tiny hand.

"No, I did not." said Dumbledore with a smile. "I'm merely babysitting for the afternoon."

"You still have time to do that with all you do on a normal schedule?" asked the man behind the counter as he filled a large bowl of Berite Botts Every Flavor Beans.

"I will admit, I have found a bit more time to tend to the students and this little one without the duties of the Wizengamot." said Dumbledore.

"I still think they've railroaded you." said a younger wizard sharply. "The Ministry is full of idiots."

"No, the Ministry has many good people, these are just the beginning of darker times." said Dumbledore.

"Beginning?" asked the nearest witch nervously.

"I know that what I and Harry Potter say is constantly put aside by the Minister, but if you won't or cannot begin to believe either of us," said Dumbledore as he took his purchases and magically transported them back to the castle. "then I beg you to do nothing, if not keep your families safe."

The others stared at Dumbledore, but nodded solemnly.

Deep within Malfoy Manor, Voldemort sat before the fire and brooded. Since he had learned that Potter had fathered a child, he hadn't heard anything about the whelp since then. Potter's spawn was the perfect bait to lure him into his clutches, but without a way to get his hands out of the safety of Dumbledore's hands, he could not use it.

He had ordered Lucius to..._counsel_...the foolish Minister into bringing the child into their hold, but the useless political fool couldn't come up with a way. Now that secretary of his...she showed quite a bit of potential According to Lucius, she was trying very hard to get possession of the small brat; not even stopping at causing Potter bodily harm to do it.

If she managed to get the baby, then it would only make it easier to get his hands on both the baby and therefore Potter. But if Lucius' unsuspecting Ministry lackeys couldn't get results, he'd have to come up with a back up plan.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Hmm...lets see, QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER! **_**What fandom have you been obsessed with lately? **_

**Mine is the Hobbit, I can't seem to get away from it right now! I'm looking up pictures and fan art on Deviantart and I'm reading all sorts of stories on here!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay...man I'm in so much pain. I got in a disagreement with a door and cracked my cheek a good one. It jacked me us so bad I can't even chew!...or smile...I might be calling into work tomorrow if the swelling doesn't go down, I'd scare little children with the smile I'm trying to pull off. **

**Last Question of the Chapter: What fandom are you obsessed with right now?**

**Let's see, we have: Legend of Zelda (**_**oh good choice!) **_**The Hobbit **_**(me too!)**_** A song of Ice and Fire **_**(Never heard of that) **_**X-Men **_**(I haven't read any of those yet.) **_**Lauren Kate's Fallen **_**(Never heard of that either)**_** Harry Potter X Lord of the Rings crossovers **_**(wrote one of those!)**_** Thunderbirds **_**(Haven't read nor watched those)**_** Harry Potter **_**(Always a favorite) **_**Suits **_**(Don't know that one) **_**and finally Kathy Riechs. **

**I don't own Harry Potter...but I wish the swelling would go down... :',(**

* * *

Harry came trudging through the Great Hall, his broomstick over his shoulder, looking weary and beaten. He absentmindedly sat down began piling things on his plate while rolling his shoulder slightly.

"How was practice?" asked Hermione.

"Grueling." said Harry with a moan, "Angelina had put us through some tough paces to accommodate the brand new Keeper...how did...whatever it was you did, go?"

"It wasn't too bad, I had a few third years try and get a game of hot potato with a timed Dungbomb going on. Loser got covered with dung." said Hermione.

"That's nice." said Harry. "Did they get a round in or two?"

"They managed to do it twice before I magicked the dungbomb away from them. So...who's the new Keeper?" asked Hermione.

"Cormac McClaggan. Ron made it as the Reserve." said Harry as Ron sat down. "We also looked into Reserve players so in case something happens to one of us, we're covered. Everyone got a reserve player to replace them in an emergency. Ginny made it as Reserve Chaser AND Seeker."

"They didn't want to right out and say reserve Seeker." said Ron as he helped himself to some chicken. "Seeing as how you tend to miss one game a year or so."

"I happy you made the team Ron." said Hermione with a smile. "You'll do great."

"Yeah, I just have to prove that I can be on the team for real." said Ron.

"So, how's McClaggan as a Keeper?" asked Hermione as she watched said student come sauntering past with a smug look on his face.

"McClaggan is alright but he sure is a loud mouth." said Ron as he tucked into his food. "Won't shut up about how great a Keeper he is and trying to give everyone tips on how to perform better."

"Even you?" asked Hermione to Harry with wide eyes.

"He didn't have a chance to corner me yet." said Harry.

"If he tries to tell us how to swing our bats once more, we're going to pelt every Bludger that comes our way into him." said Fred grimly as he sat next to Harry.

"Katie said she and Alicia will just double up on the scoring to make up for it." said George. "Smartass tried saying their curve throw was all wrong."

"And Angelina said nothing about all that?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, she tried." said Harry as he handed George the bowl of mashed potatoes. "But he would wait until she was out of earshot to try talking. But she's given him a warning to drop it unless there was real reason to point something out."

"Real reason?" asked Hermione.

"Got to admit, he had one idea where if you flip upside down you can dodge Chasers." said Fred grudgingly.

"But the real thing is, we already do that, he just doesn't watch carefully." said George.

"So, will you be able to play a game?" asked Hermione looking at Ron as Fred and George began to eat.

"I suggested that they play a little bit each game, that way they get broken into the game. McClaggan will play a little bit in the beginning and the end, Ron will play in the middle." said Harry.

"You don't see the any other team do that." said Hermione.

"We asked if we could have a whole separate team of reserves, Madam Hooch said yes." said Harry.

"McClaggan wasn't all that happy about that, he wanted to play the entire game." said Ron. "But hey, even Harry has the option of sitting out a game or not." said Ron.

"They're not going to break you up so Ginny can play?" asked Hermione.

"It wouldn't be the best idea, Seekers have to play the entire game or not at all." said Harry. "It's hard to track the movements of the Snitch when you're switching in and out. Being Chasers, Keepers and Beaters are a bit different."

He looked up at the Head table to where Mercy and Dumbledore was. "Wonder if I should let Dumbledore get doused in mushy food...nah, I wouldn't wish that on anyone." he said with a smile.

Dumbledore was bouncing Mercy on his knee as she giggled and ate spoonfuls of mashed carrots. He kept her facing away from him, as his beard was already stained orange in places from lunch. The moment she saw Harry walking, she extended her arms smiled.

"Da!" said Mercy with a squeal.

"She's close to saying her first word isn't she?" said Dumbledore as Harry neared the table.

"You missed her first word, it was 'Bad Daddy'." said Harry with a smile, he picked her up from Dumbledore's arms.

"There's a story behind that." said Flitwick with a giggle.

"I didn't let her have pudding for dessert." said Harry smiling. "That's what made me a 'Bad Daddy'. But there is a whole other story behind the phrase that I'll tell you about later."

Snape watched the interaction between the boy and the small infant. He wondered if Potter was the best person to raise the little girl, granted, it was better than the Ministry...If he was half the man that his father was, he severely doubted that Potter was an adequate guardian.

Then a voice came over his thoughts.

"Mr. Potter, if you would like, you may bring the baby to class tomorrow..." said Umbridge with a simpering smile.

Harry looked at Umbridge with a confused look, looked between Dumbledore and her, and carried Mercy away from the Head Table. What was she trying to do with all of a sudden letting her come to class? Well whatever it was, she wasn't going to go; she was going to stay in Dumbledore's office.

"Why the sudden change of heart, Dolores?" asked McGonagall suspiciously.

"I was merely concerned for her well being, but if Potter has the capacity to...socialize in a normal capacity than perhaps it is safe for her in class." said Umbridge with slick toadlike smile and glance at Harry.

"Judging from the look on Potter's face, he's going to be leaving Mercy in the Headmaster's office." said Snape calmly as he sipped the glass of wine in front of him. _Well, the brat isn't completely brainless..._

"Well, I hope that you will help me convince him of my trustworthiness, Headmaster." said Umbridge in her girly voice with what she hoped was a kind smile.

"It is up to Harry if he wants to bring Mercy to any of the classes, but I myself don't want to miss out on any quality time with her." said Dumbledore with a smile in return. "I will insist that she stay with me. In fact, during your class I had planned on showing her around the grounds properly, provided the weather is in an agreeable mood. "

Umbridge's smile slid slowly off her face.

* * *

Hermione, Ron and Harry were all still trying to find who attack him and Mercy that night, but nothing was coming of it. They interrogated everyone that might have seen something, but no one was paying much attention to anything other than dinner that night. The only witness they had was Mrs. Trunchton and she had already left.

Even Draco was off the suspect list, normally he was on the top with all the bragging or laughing he normally did after any attack on Gryffindors, but he was silent, no snide remarks or anything like that. Actually what he did do was a bit staggering.

* * *

_Harry escorted Hermione and Ron down to the empty Charms classroom to go have a meeting with the Head Boy and Girl about their Prefect duties (And to talk about the latest marketing antics of Fred and George). Harry was about to take Mercy down to the kitchens to make her a few bottles of milk when Draco came out from behind the statue of Baracus the Brutal. _

"_Hey, Potter..." said Draco. _

"_Yeah?" asked Harry as he leaned forward and adjusted the blankets around Mercy. Draco didn't make any sort of offensive moves, but using the pretense of adjusting the things in the stroller gave Mercy a human shield in her father. _

_Draco looked down at the small bundle and looked up at Harry's face. _

"_It looked pretty bad...what happened to you." said Draco._

_Harry stared. Was he asking how he was?_

"_You feeling okay?" asked Harry. "I'm expecting something other than concern." _

"_I...well...you're a good dad..." said Draco almost silently. _

_Harry was now gaping. _

"_My dad...he...well..." said Draco softly. _

_The instinctual dislike for Draco was ebbing away, the boy looked lost and confused, not the normally snarky bastard he matched wits with. _

"_Let me take Mercy to McGonagall's office, you wanna go talk somewhere?" said Harry. He was seriously concerned with how Draco was acting, as if the fellow fifth year was quickly losing his mind. _

_Draco shook his head quickly, backed up and hurried away down the corridor. Harry stared worriedly at his retreating back, that was so out of character for him that it caused him great concern._

* * *

When they talked about the attack, Harry ruled him out, remembering the way Draco acted. He didn't tell Hermione or Ron about how the Slytherin Prefect was acting, to be honest, they wouldn't have believed him. But they were stunned when Harry defended him.

* * *

"_Draco might have done it, he hasn't done anything yet this year, he must have been ready to explode." said Ron. _

"_Nah, I don't think he did it." said Harry as he wrote his Charms essay. _

"_What makes you say that?" asked Hermione skeptically as she knitted a hat, not for elves but this time for Mercy. "Usually you say it's Draco right away." _

"_No, normally Ron says it's Draco right away. But Draco isn't having a laugh about it or making any comments, if he did it, or had any knowledge about it, I think he'd be yukking it up." said Harry as he opened the charms book to find the right passage._

* * *

They had no leads so all they could do was sit and wait for someone to possibly slip up and reveal who it was...much like almost every time someone attacked any of them. Sooner or later they would find out who did the attacking, but unlike the years before, Harry had sworn that Dumbledore or McGonagall would be the first people he told.

Umbridge was furious, she thought that at the very least most of the students would side with her and the Ministry, their parents should all have level heads on their shoulders and easily see through the boy and Dumbledore's obvious lies. And through their parent's influence, they should all be prepared to through their lot in with the Ministry.

She didn't realize that almost every single year since Harry arrived, something strange had happened and Harry had been the one to put a stop to it. Potter's first year, well, no one really knew something was going on, but the end results were almost staggering. Rumors had gone around the school, until their Heads of House told them point blank what had happened.

Harry's second saw the resurface of the Chamber of Secrets, and with the help of his friends, found it when the Headmaster couldn't and went down to save Ginny and destroy the monster within.

Third year, well, Sirius Black was caught and escaped, according to the students Potter didn't do much.

Fourth year, most people thought that Harry had put his name into the Goblet of Fire, but slowly as the Tournament went by, more and more people were figuring that he didn't put his name in. At first, due to Ron's distancing from him, they thought that he did indeed put his name in, but once Ron came back to Harry's fold, they found the truth in Harry's words.

When he came back from the maze clutching Cedric's body and telling them that Voldemort was back, they were stunned, but most were certain of his honesty when they noticed a drastic change in Moody from the one they had interacted with during the entire school year. That had to mean that this was a completely different Moody, he didn't jump when someone came up behind him, the one they had only warned that they didn't or they would suffer consequences. They believed Potter.

The parents on the other hand were unsure of his honesty, but after a recant of all the things Harry had done, they were hard pressed to disregard the events. A few of their children even voicing their allegiance to Dumbledore and Harry quite loudly, earning a grounding that lasted a few days. But, after seeing such loyalty to the Boy-Who-Lived and Dumbledore, a few believed the boy, and were taking the Ministry's depiction of recent events with a grain of salt.

This was not what Umbridge or the Minister had in mind for the turn events to go.

* * *

Halloween was fast approaching, and this would be Mercy's first, not just in Hogwarts, but in her life period. Harry didn't quite trust Halloween, it seemed all hell would break lose on that day and lead to nothing but suspicion and trouble for the rest of the year. He wasn't sure if he was going to hole up in Mercy's Nursery or try and hide out in Dumbledore's office.

"Come on, Harry, nothing's going to happen." said Ron. "You don't want her to miss her first Halloween, do you?"

"Ron, she'll never remember her first Halloween..." said Harry.

"But you will." said Hermione carefully, "Like you said, there will be everyone keeping an eye on her, besides a few of girls want to see what you're going to dress her up as."

"Well..." said Harry looking at the parcel that was lying on the table. He had already sent Remus to the muggle shops to get the costume he asked for, the werewolf couldn't find the costume that Harry wanted but Mrs. Weasley made the costume he needed with some green fabric.

"Unless you're going to have her wear the costume before Halloween." said Ginny with a smile.

Harry sighed.

* * *

**So what do you think her costume is going to be? I had looked up a bunch of costumes for 6 month olds, but when I saw the one I picked I squealed and made my choice. It was SO CUTE!**

**Now I know that Draco has acted quite unusual and OOC, but there is a plan for that...it's a weird plan, but a plan.**

**Question of the Chapter! **_**What do YOU think the costume Mercy is going to wear is?**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Let's see what you all thought the costume was going to be!**

**Witch: 2**

**Baby Dragon: 3**

**Pumpkin: 1**

**Peas in a Pod: 1**

**Tinkerbell: 3**

**Tellatubby: 1**

**Barney: 1**

**Flower: 1**

**Lion: 1**

**Kitten: 1**

**Disney Princess: 1**

**Those were all super cute ideas! But none of them were right. I did see the Peas in a Pod costume and that was going to be the fall back, but what I found I was so happy with. **

**If you want to see the costume in all it's cuteness, go to the Lady Celestial Star facebook page.**

* * *

The next day at dinner, word was buzzing about little Mercy's first Halloween, someone had said that she was going to wear a costume, but no one was really all that sure what the costume was going to be.

"I wonder what Potter picked for the costume?" asked a third year Ravenclaw.

"How much do you wanna bet it's a lion cub?" asked another Ravencalw student.

After word had spread that Harry was willing to bring Mercy down to the Great Hal on Halloween night, a few of the girls had ordered some sweets from Honeydukes to possibly fill a little treats bucket for her. Though she was still a little young for anything too awfully sweet, they were sure some of the jelly slugs wouldn't be amiss, or maybe some other little gummies.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the nursery, Harry took out the costume he had prepared for that night and coaxed Mercy into it. She was a little fussy about it, but when Harry sat her on the ground and let her crawl about on her tummy for a bit, he couldn't help it...

He took out a camera that he had had Mrs. Weasley pick up in Diagon Alley and snapped a few pictures of his little girl. She looked so cute in that costume that he had to take a few snapshots of her; Mrs. Weasley made him swear that he would send on pictures of her Halloween costume, and a few to Sirius and Remus and his own little baby book wouldn't go amiss either.

A knock came on the door, Ron and Hermione came into Mercy's nursery, when they saw Mercy sitting on the floor, giggling happily, they too couldn't help but coo over her.

She wore a green long sleeved sleeper, with a soft plushie turtle shell on her back and a green hat on her head with big sparkling eyes on top. She looked just like a little crawling baby turtle.

"Oh, Harry, that's perfect!" said Hermione with a laugh.

"Aww...no one is going to want to pick her up." said Ron with a laugh as he waved over to the gesturing baby.

"Everyone was thinking you were going to have her as a lion cub." said Hermione. "Or a little fairy baby."

"Nah, that would be too easy, the lion cub anyway." said Harry a smile on his face then faltered slightly. "Grace...her favorite animals were turtles."

Hermione and Ron looked between each other and looked at Harry with a sympathetic gaze.

"Mercy's nickname from Grace...was 'Turtle'." said Harry sniffing slightly. "She's going to be my 'Munchkin' or 'Shortcake', but she'll always be her 'Turtle'."

When they went downstairs to join in the festivities, every head turned to face the father and daughter duo, some were even becoming a mite impatient and were walking around, taking bets on the costume before the little girl arrived.

The moment Harry opened the door partially and saw them all looking inquisitively and whisper amongst themselves as to the identity of the costume, he smirked. _Ah, well, let them get all the doting nonsense over with early. _

He set Mercy down on the floor and allowed her to crawl happily over to the twins who were stretching out their arms.

"Come to Unkie Fred and Uncle Georgie little...uh...bunny..." said Fred. "George...she's not a bunny...she's a turtle..."

"Eh...she's still our bunny...aintcha?" said George stretching out his arms, trying to reach even further than his twin.

"Oh my gosh!" squealed a few of the girls as they watched her crawl eagerly to the twins. "That is too cute!"

"She's a little turtle!" squealed Hannah Abbot.

Colin whipped out his new camera and took a few pictures of the little girl as she waved her hands happily in the air while Fred and George bounced her happily on their hips. Harry smiled fondly over to the little girl and took a seat next to the twins.

Dumbledore chuckled warmly down at the small infant in her little costume.

"She looks absolutely adorable." said McGonagall said with a smile.

"A fine costume choice." said Flitwick.

Snape looked down at the green clad infant, his face vainly trying to remain neutral, but the smallest of smile was twitching to get out. He had expected Potter to dress his...child...in a lioness outfit, he didn't figure on the using Slytherin colors.

Umbridge huffed impatiently at the scene, the boy still didn't bring the child to her class, even though she got close to demanding that the child be brought. Once she even threatened him with detention if he didn't comply with her wishes, he was the student she was the teacher, he should obey her! Once McGonagall caught wind of the threat, she brought Dumbledore down to Umbridge's office and told her that where Harry placed her during class time was no concern of hers and that she should be grateful that he is giving her his undivided attention.

Mercy hid sweetly in Fred's chest as the paper bats flapping above her almost came down a little too close.

"It's okay, bunny...they won't do anything to you, they're just going to flap around..." said Fred.

"See, look." said George leaping up and grabbing one. "just paper." and he tore one in half.

"Gyaah!" screamed Mercy as she buried her face deeper into Fred's shirt and began to cry.

"Sorry!" said the twins together.

"Here, Mercy...here, see it's all fixed, look at that...and look, now it's a butterfly see!" said Lee hurrying over and turning the black paper bat into a bright gold and red butterfly.

"I think you aren't going to get Mercy away from them, Harry." said Hermione with a smile as Mercy giggled and waved her hands at the fluttering butterfly.

"Just means I get to eat in peace for once." said Harry with a laugh.

Once Harry had eaten a plateful of food and was about to remove Mercy from Fred's clutches, when the students that bought sweets to give to Mercy came over with a large jack-o-lantern basket. They walked over and gave it to her with much cooing and 'awwing' at the costume and asking Colin for copies of the pictures. Fred set the little girl on the ground and she squealed with delight at all the goodies in the basket and tossed them up into the air.

As she made to rip the wrapper off of one of the large jelly slugs, Harry came over and took the sweet.

"Uh uh..." said Harry taking the bucket and putting it up on the table.

Mercy looked at the bucket and then her father, her little face looking as if it were on the verge of very loud tears.

Harry took a small thimble out of his pocket, and transfigured it into a bright orange pumpkin plushie. He levitated it over Mercy's head, of who followed it very carefully with her eyes.

"Gah!" said Mercy happily as she waved her arms to try and take a hold of the soft toy just floating out of arms reach.

Harry smiled as he let the the toy fall to the floor and Mercy embraced it as much as her much smaller arms could. The pumpkin was almost one and a quarter her size, dwarfing her slightly.

"No ruining your appetite." said Harry with a smile.

"Come on, Harry, like you never have eaten candy on Halloween night before dinner." said Ron.

"Haven't actually, not till I turned eleven." said Harry.

Hermione scoffed softly in disbelief.

Harry looked over at Hermione with a raised brow, but shook his head. "Believe what you want, don't rightly care, but she's not getting any sweets till she eats her dinner. She can have a jelly slug once she finishes her peas."

"The old adage of 'do as I say, not as I do'?" said Fred.

"Of course. You think your mother was a saint?" asked Harry.

"Now...Harry...we know _all_ about our mother..." said Fred.

"We may have picked up our...rule breaking...tendencies from our Dad..." said George with a wink.

"But as for pranking?" said Fred.

"Mum...was the undisputed _Queen_." said the twins together.

* * *

Voldemort, paced in one of the most spacious and grand rooms of Malfoy Manor, he was_ livid_, the brat had been kept out of his clutches for almost three months. He wanted that brat and Lucius' little Ministry fools couldn't seem to get their hands on the babe. He heard of the explosion and the culprit who did it.

It was a foolish move and it only intensified the security around Potter and his spawn, what should have been done was slip into the Gryffindor tower and take the child by force. That witch Umbridge had the ample opportunity, being a professor of the honored institution, to go in there and take the child.

But now...Potter was given the custody of the infant and no one can really remove the child legally. Well, now the only path remaining was an illegal one.

His spies in Hogsmede had told him that when the whelp was out of the castle, it was always in the company of Dumbledore. He didn't even attempt to take the child out of Dumbledore's gaze, as it would never work, he had to buckle down and admit that.

Potter was not in the same sort of protection as the infant was, but he was still far too protected to even attempt storming the castle. He would need finesse to lead Potter out...but what would lead him out of the castle? To save someone...as he dearly loved to play the hero...but who would be the bait?

* * *

Harry put the large pumpkin basket of treats high up on the bookcase and took Mercy out of the baby turtle costume.

"Alright, munchkin, bath time, then bed time." said Harry.

"Bah ime!" said Mercy happily.

He drew the warm bath water and threw in a few multi-colored bubbles to keep the little girl occupied and not douse him with water as she had done almost every night. He washed the small fluff of black hair that thankfully came down in small curls and not the unruly tangle that was present in his family.

"I think you're going to have you Mummy's curly hair, thank goodness for that. I don't think you'd want to have to go through life with _my _unruly mop." said Harry.

"Op!" squealed Mercy as she threw a large bubble into the air.

Once she was clean, he picked her up out of the bathwater and wrapped her in a warm fluffy towel.

"Abba Keen!" cooed Mercy.

"That's right, 'All clean.'" said Harry with a smile. "Now, do you want to pick up that story we had started weeks ago? You seemed to just go right to sleep as of late."

"Ry! Ry!" said Mercy happily.

"Okay, then...here we are...let's see...Alder and Helena just went into the woods...yeah we read that part..and they...that's right, they left the path..."

* * *

_Alder led his little sister further into the woods, not willing to stop...he still needed to find the Fairy Tails. Helena thought she had seen the light straight ahead through the trees, but Alder had deviated from the direction she pointed in and was now trying to follow something else. She couldn't see the light that her brother was chasing, but it couldn't be the Fairy Tail...it was an herb, not an actual fairy. _

_She was frightened beyond what she was already, and it didn't help when her brother stopped and turned towards her. _

"_Did you see where it went?" said Alder. "Where did it go?" _

"_I didn't see it Alder! I didn't see it at all! We're lost now!"_

* * *

"I don't know about this now...I don't want you getting nightmares..." said Harry looking down at the book.

"Ry! Ry!" said Mercy patting the page.

Harry sighed. "Alright..."

* * *

"_We're not lost, I'm sure we can find the path..." said Alder. _

"_It's dark in here! I want Mummy!" said Helena crying loudly. _

"_Don't cry Helena...please don't cry..." said Alder walking over and holding his sister. "I'm sorry, we'll find our way home..." _

_For what felt hours, they sat in the darkness, Helena crying and Alder trying to soothe his sister in his arms. Suddenly, they heard a low growl. _

"_What was that?" said Helena worriedly._

* * *

"Okay..." said Harry stopping his reading quickly and noticing Mercy's eyes getting bigger. "Let's see...dah dah dah...they get chased by a bear...blah blah blah...ah here we go..."

* * *

_As they huddled on the other side of the river, they heard a tinkling sound , soon the air around them were full of colorful lights, weaving around the air. _

_The two siblings stared at the lights as they floated around, then one slowly landed on their hands. _

_It was a tiny, blue fairy. _

"_Helena..." said Alder in awe. _

_The fairy looked up at the two of them and looked inquisitively at them. _

"_Uh...hello little fairy...ah...do you know where we can find some fairy tails at?" asked Helena. _

_The fairy instantly grabbed her small bottom and flashed a red color. _

"_No..no! Not your tail, though you don't have one." said Alder turning to look at the fairy's backside. _

_The fairy turned an even brighter red. _

"_We mean the herb, fairy tail..." said Helena earnestly. "Our dad is sick and we need some of them." _

_The fairy turned slowly back to blue, and floated up into the air. In a quick zigzagging pattern, the other fairies in the air swirled around and flew towards the woods once again. Instead of flying off and leaving the children, they waited for the children to follow. _

"_Maybe they know where there are some!" said Alder._

* * *

Harry looked down at Mercy, who was slumbering softly in the crook of his elbow. "You don't seem to take much to put you to sleep, huh?" said Harry with a smile.

He stood up slowly and placed her in bassinet. As he finished arranging the blankets, he looked down at Mercy, tears falling softly onto the baby blanket.

"I love you, turtle...and your mummy loves you too." he whispered as he leaned forward and kissed his daughter's forehead. As he watched her sleep, he was happy that this year, Halloween didn't' signal the start of the year going all to hell.

* * *

**Oh my gosh, I am RUSHING! I had a hectic work week and I'm so lucky that I didn't have to tell you all that the update wasn't going to happen till tomorrow! **

**Thanks for reading please review!**

**Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite breakfast?**

**I generally have toast, but if I can get it (which is only at the restaurant I frequent) Chicken Fried Steak, American fries (fried potatoes), toast, and eggs. Pretty awesome breakfast for $6! And it beats the McDonalds that is located next door to the restaurant!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, sorry about the shortness of the chapter, but something is going to happen on my end and if you want to know what is going on, hop onto my Facebook page. **

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The school settled back into reasonable normalcy, everyone seemed to adjust to Harry's child being in Hogwarts, yet the novelty of such a child didn't change, everyone still wanted to hold her and play with the tiny infant whenever they could see Harry was a bit busy. Unfortunately, the peaceful times were not to last, though.

Nothing else had happened, till the first Quidditch game of the season anyway. Harry still kept Mercy away from Umbridge due to the ill feelings he kept getting from her, also on the advice from Mrs. Trunchton. Her constant demands of Mercy being brought to class sent a sliver of suspicion through Harry that it was the Professor that was behind the explosion.

And that was all he needed to keep her away from that particular teacher.

Harry had handed Mercy off to Hermione, as Dumbledore was unsure if he was going to have time to stop down and watch the game due to a meeting of the school governors. She was more than welcome to stay with him, but Harry wanted her to see a game, not that she would remember it later on in life...but Harry wanted her there, to love Quidditch right from the start.

As the team left their "tunnel", Hermione held onto Mercy, who was wearing a gold and red skirt and top with tiny pompoms lightly strapped to her arms and cheered as Harry came streaking out and into the sky.

"There's your daddy!" said Hermione pointing to the red and gold streak in the sky.

"Dah!" squealed Mercy holding up her arms, the pompoms fluttering with the movement.

The game went spectacularly, perhaps a bit too violent for Mercy to see, it being a Slytherin versus Gryffindor game after all. Hermione and Neville had to cover Mercy's eyes a few times when one of the bludgers came too close or smacked the tail end of a broom so that one of the players were almost knocked clean out of the air.

Mercy seemed to enjoy watching her honorary uncles and aunts play a game high up into the air, she squealed with delight as people went flying through the air and every time, no matter which side, she squeaked loudly as people cheered. She had not been flying with Harry since the time that she was brought to Grimmauld Place, and it seemed that much like her father, she enjoyed being in the air.

One of the other teachers stood a few rows behind the Gryffindor Prefect and the infant. Since Dumbledore himself couldn't tear himself away from his work that day, Professor Flitwick had to keep an eye on the infant and make sure no harm fell upon her. The game was going along as well as could be expected and no further attacks on the child had been noticed or seen before today. Harry would have told the teachers if something was out of the ordinary.

The fliers was completely in sync, they moved with utter surety and had confidence in their skills. Unfortunately, that was the Slytherin team.

The Gryffindor team's Beaters, Fred and George, were well in form, perhaps their best form since they were first added to the team. They could send a bludger back with a unthinking backhand smack and sent it right on target. The Chasers were almost thinking as one and could find each other without looking. Harry was keeping well on track with where that Snitch was and when he was needed, dived down and scattered the opposing Chasers. Cormac McClaggan and Ronald Weasley, the new keepers was far from being the all-star player their teammates were. It didn't help that the Slytherin's themselves were taunting the poor red-headed novice player.

Twice, the game was stopped and points were deducted for poor sportsman like conduct, but without much time passing, they would start up again. Disappointing it was, how children treated each other.

Ron had tried several times to bounce back from the failed saves, once he redeemed himself and caught a particularly difficult toss from the Slytherin Chaser. He managed to flip upside down and catch the Quaffle and then send it back to his own Chasers, causing a loud cheer to come from the Gryffindor bleachers.

Cormac seeing that, came back onto the field and tried to do a similar save, but the ball went into the far left hoop. The Slytherin spectators didn't have a chant for him, but merely laughed heartily.

Then as if it the game had been going on for perhaps an hour or two, when in fact it was only forty some odd minutes, Harry and Draco were racing along to try and get the Snitch, slamming each other with their shoulders. Unfortunately for the Slytherin team, it was that small extra burst of speed that Harry had in his broom and by being a bit lighter that decided the victory. Harry managed to slip ahead and take the tiny fluttering ball in his hand. And in true showman standards, he rose up on his broom and held the tiny ball of gold aloft.

Alas, the the thrill of victory was short-lived and replaced with a thrill of horror.

As Harry rose, one of the Beaters from the Slytherin team, Crabbe, he thought it was, smacked a retreating Bludger directly towards the Gryffindor stands...right where Harry's babe was.

A few of the students in the crowd screamed and began to run for cover, but Hermione was frozen in place, terrified. Flitwick took out his wand, but he knew it was now use, he wouldn't be able to stop it in time, it was already feet away from the two girls.

A blast of white light came screaming past and the bludger exploded into tiny flower petals, covering Mercy, who didn't even take notice of the danger and only giggled. Harry came, landing nimbly on the stadium wall and glared up to Crabbe. His wand out and being stuffed back into his robes.

"I saw that!" yelled Harry. "And you won't get away with it!"

Indeed he didn't.

His bags were packed, and his wand was snapped. Vincent Crabbe, Slytherin Beater, was expelled.

It wasn't because that it was an unfortunate accident, no it had been found to be quite deliberate. The Bludger was falling down to the ground and once the game was done, the balls don't fly up, until either the magical lock on their box is opened, or when a Beater bat hits them to be used in practice. Crabbe was a stupid boy, but all Beaters were told of this rule, forced to memorize it and were not allowed to play a game until they could recite the basic safety rules from memory. Beaters were the most offensive players in the game, they had to learn over thirty rules about where to hit, and how hard. If a Beater has malicious intentions and attempts to hurt any of the spectators, they are expelled...no questions asked.

The spectators are for the most part defenseless, using the Bludger against a fellow player was one thing, but against a spectator was an entirely different ballgame and labeled as an assault.

Crabbe didn't even defend his actions, though...that could be that he wasn't really paying attention, no one could really tell. He did look at Umbridge expectantly a few times, but she did nothing but purse her lips. She tried to defend the Slytherin several times, and each time the reasons were more ridiculous than the last.

"_He was simply playing a game, a game in my opinion is too violent for children to play, this is why I asked the Minister to look into removing this game from the Extra Curricular activities_."

That was immediately dismissed, as every wizarding school in the world supported Quidditch and it was not about to be removed for any reason. The student that couldn't grasp and accept the rules would simply be removed from the game...and in extreme cases, the school all together.

"_Perhaps if the child had not been there, there wouldn't have been a problem, isn't it Potter's fault for having the child in such a dangerous situation in the first place_?"

That also was dismissed, Beaters have to practice where to aim the Bludgers, if they cannot keep the Bludgers away from the fans of the game, they don't need to be playing that position. The twins had always threatened to send a volley down to the Slytherins, but they had never done it.

"_If anything, Potter should be brought here to face some penalties, bringing a wand to a game, he could have done someone a serious injury with that stunt_."

The only serious injury he had done was to the offensive Bludger, he was defending, not assaulting.

Umbridge's excuses were becoming repetitive and with the full support of the Governors, Crabbe was expelled.

The next morning, as one student left, another occupant of the school came back. Hagrid.

As he settled into his chair at the breakfast table, sighing with relief as the pain from his ribs and cuts were gone, he shook the hands of several students that came up to welcome him back.

He was happy to see the three students he had missed most of all, but there was something in Harry's arms that made him stare.

"Harry..."

"Yeah, Hagrid?"

"What's that in your arms?"

"It's called a baby, Hagrid."

"Whose baby?"

"Mine, Hagrid."

With a loud crash he fainted dead away.

The Gamekeeper/Care of Magical Creatures Teacher didn't wake up for twenty minutes. Madam Pomfrey had to come down from the Hospital Wing and bring him back to consciousness with a strong bottle of smelling salts, and when he did, he staggered back into his newly repaired chair (Having smashed it to bits as he fell backwards).

Hagrid seemed to still be shaken and when he did finally seem coherent enough to pick up his cup of tea and sip a large mouthful. Then he looked down at Harry and the small babe in his arms.

"So...yer a...a poppa?" said Hagrid staring at the small infant.

"Uh huh." said Harry with a bright smile. "This is Mercy..."

"Who's the momma?" asked Hagrid wiggling a finger in front of Mercy who latched onto it and squealed with delight at the size as he looked around the school expectantly.

"You didn't know her..." said Harry his voice tight. "I wish you had, she loved hearing about you. You were one of her favorite people to hear stories about."

Hagrid looked down at the youth and nodded solemnly, putting two and two together, she had to of been a muggle then, nothing wrong with that of course.

"Want to hold her?" asked Harry holding Mercy up a little.

Hagrid seemed unsure, but when he held the little bairn in his hand (small enough to fit into only one of his) his face broke into a bright smile.

"Ah, she's a little darlin' aren't ya?" said Hagrid with a deep chuckle.

"I think you may be one of her new favorite people, Hagrid." said Harry smiling as Mercy squealed loudly with a smile on her face. "She takes after her mother after all."

* * *

Voldemort tapped his finger on the arm of the wooden chair impatiently, he was told by his Death Eaters that they had a way to get to Potter, and it didn't involve using the infant at all. He didn't know what the device or person was, but they had better bring it to him quickly, and it had better be good.

In came a Lucius with a young girl by the arm. She had short red hair, covered almost by a thick wrap of gauze around her temple, her thin frame hidden beneath a plain blue robe and her hazel eyes looking around curiously.

"Where am I? Where have you brought me, sir?" said the girl in a plain voice. She looked at the Dark Lord and took an instinctive step back.

"What...or should I say...who is this?" asked Voldemort, his brows furrowed in slight confusion.

"This my lord, is the way we get to Potter." said Lucius with a smile.

The young girl blinked and looked up at the man.

"Who's Potter?" said the girl curiously.

Lucius smiled coolly, "Why, my dear girl, the Potter I speak of...is your _husband_."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **

**Now remember to find out what is going on, please refer to the post on my Facebook page. Nothing drastic or dramatic, just...it's something that needs to happen.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey there! Update! Yay!**

**I don't own Harry Potter. **

Harry heaved a large sigh as he tried to get the gobstone stink out of his daughter's hair. Whoever left that bag of gobstones lying about in the Common Room was certainly going to get it. Mercy didn't mind in the slightest at first, but then when got a tiny bit of it in her mouth and she tasted the spray of nasty smelling liquid she minded it very much.

He dropped some bath toys and multicolored bubbles to keep her entertained while he carefully scrubbed his daughter's body, what kept Harry entertained was the thought of what he would do to whoever left the damn spheres on the ground, he was going to bathe _them _in the stuff and see how they liked trying to wash it out of their hair... or maybe pour it into their pumpkin juice in the morning...so many possibilities...

"Harry? Are you in there?" came a voice from the other side of the nursery door.

"Yeah, I'm in here." said Harry. "You can come in."

The door opened and the Headmaster came in with a smile on his face. "There you are dear boy. Now, I have heard that someone in here was yelling at quite a few of the other students in the Gryffindor Common room."

"Someone left a bag of gobstones on the floor, Mercy got into them and got sprayed." said Harry darkly.

"Ah! So that's the aroma I detected! Oh good, I was afraid that it was yet another escaped transfigured animal...the last time that happened...I believe was in your father's fourth year. Your father had a penchant for animal pranks and when he transfigured that top hat into a skunk, I daresay no one was very happy with him." said Dumbledore with a smile.

"I wouldn't be either." said Harry as he fluffed dried his daughter with a large pink towel.

"Da! Da!" squealed Mercy as she and Harry rubbed noses together.

"All clean!" said Harry with a smile.

"Ah Keen!" said Mercy happily.

Dumbledore smiled softly down at the youth and the babe. Despite how he overreacted at the end of the summer holidays, he had to admit, Harry was a fine father and he himself adored this little bundle with all he had.

"So what can I do for you?" asked Harry.

"As I said, I had heard of a very intense scolding going on, and with McGonagall having the night off, I was curious as to what was going on." said Dumbledore. "I had imagined Miss Granger was the scolder...and perhaps the twins were the ones on the receiving end..."

A loud slam came to to them and there was McGonagall standing in the doorway her face pale but her mouth tightly shut. Her hands were holding a letter, and they were trembling.

"Minerva, what on earth is the matter?" asked Dumbledore. He had never seen his Deputy so distressed, at least not since the first war.

"Potter, this Grace...what does she look like?" asked McGonagall.

"What do you mean, _does_?" asked Harry quickly. He handed Mercy to Dumbledore and took out a small photo album, he took out a picture of Grace holding Mercy in the hospital. She looked tired and her hair a little scraggy, but her hazel eyes sparkled with happiness.

McGonagall took the picture in her hand and looked between the photo in her hand, and a letter in her other. Her eyes opened wider still.

"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore. "What is it?"

McGonagall looked at Harry, and handed him the two things in her hand. "You'd better look."

Harry looked at picture he had given her, and when he looked at the picture, he just about crashed right into the rocking chair. "It can't be...she's dead...it can't be..."

Dumbledore looked down at the two pictures, one of the mother of the child in his hands, and same child in her arms. And the other was a picture of Grace, looking pale, with a bandage around her head and holding up yesterday's Daily Prophet. McGonagall however kept the note that came with the photo, not wishing to disturb the young father any further.

"How is this possible?" asked Harry weakly.

McGonagall handed Dumbledore the note and took Mercy into her arms as Harry stared at the picture in horror. The Headmaster took the note and read it carefully.

"It does not say how it is possible Harry, but I...I gather you can guess who has her?" said Dumbledore softly.

"Voldemort..." said Harry in a whisper, "I've got to get her back, I have to!"

"Easy Harry...you will do no such thing." said Dumbledore taking Harry by the shoulders.

"I..!" said Harry loudly.

"You are a _father!_" said Dumbledore sharply. "You're first duty must be to your child."

"I'm her _husband!_" said Harry hotly. "She's a big part of my duty as well!"

"We cannot have Mercy grow up without a parent, would you have her live as you did, no parent to care for her?" said Dumbledore holding Harry tightly, peering into his eyes determinedly. "You have to stay here, safe, for her."

Harry looked away with a scowl, but then looked back at Dumbledore slowly. "Is that the reason you gave Sirius?"

Dumbledor smiled softly. "It's possible...now, let me go and inform the Order, I promise Harry...I will bring her back to you."

"Voldemort's going to have her by him at all times, to lure me in." said Harry with a sigh. "How do you plan on getting to him?"

"I do not know that as of yet, but we will figure it out." said Dumbledore patting Harry's shoulder. "In the meantime, I would much rather you go somewhere safe, with Mercy."

"I'm glad you're letting her come with me this time." said Harry taking Mercy into his arms. "Where to?"

"Headquarters, now, gather up the things you will need. Minerva, I hope you will escort him to my office when he is ready." said Dumbledore.

"Of course." said McGonagall.

"Are you going to tell Hermione, Ron and the others?" asked Harry.

"I will say that something has come up, and that you had to removed for your and Mercy's safety. I hope to have Grace to you before the holidays..." said Dumbledore.

"Don't promise me anything, sir." said Harry as he gathered a few of Mercy's things. "It will only hurt later."

Dumbledore looked at Harry, wincing slightly at his words.

* * *

Sirius was delighted to have Harry and Mercy in Grimmauld Place and almost took a vindictive pleasure in knowing that despite how Molly had harped and harped about how she knew all about babies and had raised seven of her own, Harry and Mercy were coming to him.

With Harry there, Mercy was a happy little baby and Sirius loved to bounce the little muffin on his knees.

"Oh you and Papa are going to have a wonderful time!" said Sirius kissing the top of Mercy's head.

"Maybe I can finally get some sleep then." said Harry with a yawn. He had agreed to taking a sleeping draught as well as a Calming draught so that he could keep reasonably calm and not go tearing off to wherever Grace may be held.

"Long day yesterday?" asked Sirius.

"You have no idea." said Harry. "Back in the Muggle world, it takes a good long time for baby teeth to come in, last week was a quick little breaking in of teeth...I don't know how Magical families do it."

Sirius smiled. "It's called silencing charms and cooling pacis."

Harry groaned. "Why did no one _tell _me!"

"'Cause it's more amusing to watch you struggle, besides, now you know for your next kid." said Sirius.

"Oh hell, no, even if I get Grace back and she (I dearly hope) she get's cured, I'm only going to have one kid." said Harry rubbing his eyes.

"You say that now, but you'll break that promise, I'm sure of it. Lily and James...they wanted another baby, they had planned on it too." said Sirius, finishing on a somber note.

Harry and Sirius sat in silence, as Mercy gurgled happily.

"Why don't you go and take a nap, I'll watch the little Monster." said Sirius.

"You sure?" asked Harry.

"I'm positive, now you go and sleep. You look like five miles of bad road." said Sirius waving Harry away, and helping Mercy wave to Harry as well. Harry chuckled, and kissed the top of Mercy's head.

"Alright, I see that I'm not wanted." said Harry with a smirk. "If something goes wrong, just come and wake me up."

"Oh, I think we'll be fine." said Sirius tickling Mercy's tummy, "Won't we buttercup?"

"Gah!" said Mercy trying to escape Sirius' fingers.

"I'll be upstairs sleeping, I'll be down in an hour to put her down for a nap." said Harry walking out of the kitchen.

An hour later, Mercy began to yawn softly and Siruis looked around; Harry had not come down.

"Let's go find your daddy." said Sirius cuddling the small girl to his chest.

They climbed the stairs and entered Harry's room, Sirius creaked the door open and saw Harry splayed out and snoring softly into the pillow.

"Seems like your daddy is a bit tuckered out, how about we put you down by him..." said Sirius setting up the small bassinet and lay the little girl onto the soft blankets. "There you go, now have a nice nap, you and daddy earned it."

Sirius tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind him. He turned and saw Remus standing there with a smile on his face.

"Bloody hell, learn to make noise will ya?" whispered Sirius clutching his chest. "You scared the living shit it out of me."

"Perhaps you should clean out your ears, I made plenty of noise." said Remus, his old humor coming back from being absent so long. "There's going to be a meeting in a half-hour, you think they'll be asleep during that?"

"Mercy's going to be like a little hibernating chipmunk, Harry's sleeping like a drunk Scotsman." said Sirius with a smile. "I think we'll be safe."

* * *

Umbridge was _ticked_, not only did she not manage to get Potter to bring his whelp into the classroom, but now both he and her were gone! How was she supposed to find a way to remove the brat from Potter if he wasn't even there.

She flooed the Minister and told him that the child was gone and so was Potter, but the Minister only held up his hands.

"I cannot do a thing, if Potter wants to take some time off from school he can. He just has to come back in time to take the tests at the end of the year." said Fudge. "He was given custody of his daughter..."

"But Potter is a child himself! Surely we can do something in that aspect?" said Umbridge.

"Potter has a Magical guardian, but not even that will help us." said Fudge.

"And who would that would be?" said Umbridge shortly.

"Dumbledore. There's no winning this battle, they seem to have their bases covered." said Fudge.

* * *

Dumbledore had gathered quite a few members of the Order for the emergency meeting. He had allowed Harry and Mercy to settle in first, (also allowing it to get closer to Mercy's naptime) then began the meeting and devise plans to get Grace back to Harry.

"Severus, have you heard anything?" asked Kingsley. "Has he mentioned where he may be keeping her?"

"He is keeping that information very close to himself and keeping her location an even closer secret." said Snape. "Since her breakout, Bella has been sending hexes towards any female death eater...knowing that there was a Muggle near the Dark Lord would only enrage her."

"You mean that You-Know-Who is frightened of Bellatrix?" said Bill with a nervous chuckle.

"He does not fear her, he has defeated her numerous times in various duels, but he would prefer to not lose his lieutenant." said Snape plainly. "If she were to go against his wishes, he would not hesitate to dispatch her, or anyone."

"So, until we gather her exact location, (_"Other than Malfoy Manor, Tonk." said Moody gruffly, "We'll have to pinpoint the exact room.") _we sit and wait. Severus, try and find where Grace is being kept, though keep yourself safe." said Dumbledore carefully.

Snape nodded.

"Do you have a picture of the lass?" asked Diggle

McGonagall took the picture from the inside pocket of her robes and passed it along the table, each person studying the picture and the young girl within. When the picture reached Sirius, he smiled roguishly. Remus, remembering the infantile humor that his best friend had, reared his leg back to kick him under the table.

"Mercy takes after her mum." said Sirius his roguish smile turning into fondness. Remus stopped his foot in midswing towards Sirius' leg.

"The Dark Lord won't wait forever, what does he want in exchange for the girl?" asked Moody.

"Harry, he wants Harry." said McGonagall with distaste.

"He's mad, does he think we'd trade Harry for a muggle girl?" said Moody.

"He had assumed the letter had reached Harry, but the letter was waylaid by McGonagall." said Dumbledore.

"You often snoop through Harry's mail?" asked Sirius with a quirked eyebrow.

"To this day, we have stopped seven hundred and twenty-four attempts at Mr. Potter's well being." said Snape in waspish tone. "I don't see you doing even half of that."

"Don't start that again." said Dumbledore sternly. "This is not about the two of you and your past history, this is about a mother and a wife."

Sirius and Snape lowered their eyes slightly, but still glowered at each other. The meeting continued on, Dumbledore instructed the others to also keep their ears open, perhaps one of the Death Eaters that had not been sniffed out would be the one that had learned of the whereabouts of Miss Grace and that would be the tipping point in their favor.

"Any word if Rudolph and Leroy are coming back? Have the owls reached them yet?" asked Remus.

"No word as of yet, I doubt very much if they were to be reached within a reasonable amount of time." said Dumbledore. "But we can always hope."

"They'd be a big help, especially with those plants of theirs...and taking care of the baby." said Remus.

"Oh, if I or Dumbledore don't spoil her, they certainly will." said Sirius with a smirk. "Them and babies...oh...they'd empty their bank account getting clothes, toys and and other things."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Question of the chapter..._What is your favorite piece/item in your room?_**

**I just got my very first writer's desk at a garage sale. It's one of those roll top desks and it's freaking sweet! But then I had/wanted to get a proper chair for the desk, 'cause the one I was using was so damn uncomfortable I couldn't sit and type for very long..unfortunately...the one that I found and worked for me...was a $200 chair!...but you know...it feels sooooooooo...niiiiiiiiiicccccceeeeeeee...**


	13. Chapter 13

**For everyone living in America: Happy Fourth of July!**

**For everyone else: How's it goin?**

**Okay, Everyone had a bunch of different things as their favorite thing in their room...I can't really say that two people had the same answer. **

**Before we start, I keep having this happen, and I don't do things that way. If you have a question, please sign in, either put it in the review or PM me. I do not give answers in the author's notes of the next chapter. My answers can get quite lengthy and the AN should never be longer than the actual chapter. If you don't want to sign in, that's fine, but you'll never get your answer. I really don't mean to sound mean, rude or b!tchy but I prefer to answer questions person to person. (cyberspace person to person in this case)**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Days went by in Grimmauld Place as slowly as ever. Harry was only allowed to take Mercy out of Headquarters with a guard no less than five people but when the snow came down in London then excursions outside were kept to almost nonexistent levels. But that was due to Harry's choice, Harry knew the dangers of going out and wasn't all that gung-ho about taking his daughter outside, especially when it got to be so cold out.

Once the Christmas holidays finally rolled around, and the Weasleys joined them in (Hermione had opted to spend some quality time with her parents, and get some advice from them personally about the care that comes with raising a child) the entire house was whipped into a festive scene, especially since it was going to be Mercy's first Christmas. Mrs. Weasley had been all a flutter in the decorations and had shared with Harry all of her children's first Christmas's and what had made each of them special, not that all Christmases weren't special when her children were home to celebrate it with her. While Mrs. Weasley was talking, her children were turning bright red.

"Oh, I remember Bill's first Christmas, he started the day off crawling up the tree and nearly knocking all the candles right off, nearly set his nappy on fire." said Mrs. Weasley with a slight smile as she made up a batch of Christmas cookies.

"Mum..." groaned Bill softly covering his face with his hands.

The stories went on and out of pity for his friends, he excused himself to settle Mercy down for a nap.

Harry hadn't expected Sirius and the rest of the Order to keep him informed about how they were going to get Grace back, he had planned on them not telling him anything till they brought her back to him and keep him nice, safe and secluded. While they didn't spill everything, they told him just enough that he knew that they weren't just going sit around doing nothing and make him so frustrated that he figured he could go and save her himself.

There was speak about some relatives of Harry's coming back into the country. They had received their letters requesting their aid and had agreed to come back. Sirius had told him the identity of his relatives as his Great-Uncle Rudolph and his husband Leroy.

Harry had stared at Sirius for a moment and shook his head, muttering "Nice to know I have _living _relatives."

"I meant to tell you, even show you a picture or two..." said Sirius, but Harry only walked away to care for Mercy's needs.

But Harry's short lived sullen mood was quickly evaporated the next day when Hermione sent him a tiny holiday dress for Mercy to wear. It was a velvet green and red dress with tiny white snowflakes embroidered into the fabric. There was even a bow that matched the dress.

He wrapped Mercy into this new outfit and took her downstairs to show her off, but was stopped by Sirius who had just stepped out of the kitchen.

"Oi, go back upstairs for a bit." said Sirius quickly meeting Harry up the stairs.

"Why?"

"Cause your Uncle Rudolph and Leroy are here..." said Sirius while he cooed over Mercy in her new outfit, tweaking the bow just slightly.

"And shouldn't I be down there to meet them?" said Harry quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, you see, they're being updated on everything that's been going on by Dumbledore and if they saw you and the baby that would only be a distraction...not that you aren't a really _good _distraction, but they'd just cuddle you and ignore Dumbledore." said Sirius.

"A distraction, eh?" said Harry with a smirk.

"Oh, they would dote on you something fierce, I thought Dumbledore and Batty were bad, these two were downright nauseating." said Sirius.

Harry allowed himself to be coaxed back upstairs to where Ron and Ginny were playing chess, Fred and George were discussing something quietly in the corner and writing things down on parchment.

"Well, that didn't take long." said Ron as he swept the debris of Ginny's castle off the board.

"They've got guests downstairs, they need to be 'briefed' before I can go down there." said Harry as he placed Mercy down in the playpen. "You make a comeback yet?"

"No, I fell for a classic Ron trap, I'm floundering again." said Ginny trying to coax her bishop towards one of Ron's pieces.

"It's a good thing she ate before they got here, you'd be busting down the door and doing what you want to do." said Ron.

"Better believe it." said Harry with a smirk.

After an hour had passed, the door crashed open and there were two men standing in the doorway. Both of them were very tall, one had hazel eyes, long black hair tired back in a braid and the other one had bright silver eyes, and short blonde hair. They stared at the children in the room and they stared back. Their eyes latched onto Harry and rushed to pull him into their arms.

"Look at him Rudy!" sobbed the blonde. "He's so big now!"

As the two men held him and sobbed into his shoulders he looked at Sirius, who was standing in the doorway, smiling broadly, Harry sent him a confused look.

"Yup, those are your Uncles..." said Sirius grinning back at him. "Rudy, Lee, let him breathe."

They pulled away, Leroy, the blonde apparently, came around and looked at Harry with now bloodshot eyes while Rudolph stared down at him.

"I can't believe it, my baby had a baby." said Rudolph with a watery smile.

"Speaking of which, where is the baby? I wanna see her!" said Leroy excitedly.

"Let's go talk first." said Harry holding up his hands. "Then I'll see if I want to introduce you to my daughter."

Rudolph and Leroy looked taken aback slightly and then shared a confused look between the two of them.

"It's only fair." said Dumbledore who came into view in the hallway. "He doesn't _know _you, so he is just being cautious. Very wise move Harry."

Harry muttered something about "_Mrs. Trunchton_," and followed the two taller men into the room across the hall.

"So what are those two like?" asked Ron after the thick silence once the three of them left.

"Oh, they're nice blokes, I think you'd really like Leroy, one of the best cooks I've ever known..." said Sirius.

"Leroy's that blonde bloke, right? He sort of looks familiar." said Fred.

"Well, I should sort of hope so...the Malfoy family have very strong family resemblances and traits." said Sirius.

Silence came over them again.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me...that Leroy...is a _Malfoy?_" said George.

"That's right, oh there was a big scandal on the Malfoy side when he and Rudy ran off together...especially when he was supposed to betrothed to Bellatrix." said Sirius.

"Bellatrix?" asked Ginny.

"That would be a reference to my completely psychopathic, Death Eater cousin, now known as Bellatrix Lestrange." said Sirius with a snort.

The Weasley children stared in horror. "And can we trust him?"

"Yeah, there was a bit of distrust during the first war, but he was proven to be on our side, then once it got to be really bad, before Harry's parent's went into hiding, they took off to Africa." said Sirius.

"Why?" asked Fred. "Why wouldn't he stay and fight?"

"They're not the only ones to take off during the war...a bunch of people high-tailed it and no one really blames them. The ones that had the courage and the talent to stay and fight stayed, those that would have only been a liability took off before they could be hurt or used against us." said Remus.

"So...they're not all that powerful?" asked Ginny looking confused.

"Oh, they've got amazing talent, two of the best duelers in both the Potter and Malfoy family." said Sirius.

"But..."

"But Leroy was afraid, after Lucius and other members of his family threw their lot in with Voldemort, he wanted to leave the country." said Sirius. "It was his choice, and his husband went with him to support it...They're both alive and well, that's the really important part...Harry has a loving, legitimate family."

Sirius walked over and leaned over the playpen.

"Wanna go get a cookie, pumpkin?" said Sirius picking her up and tossing her lightly in the air.

"I'll take a cookie." said Ron quickly.

"Us too!" said Fred, George and Ginny.

After another hour had passed, Harry led them back to his room, they had proved that they were not...well...evil...so he decided to introduce them to his daughter, but when he entered the room, he saw that everyone else was gone, including his daughter.

"Where the heck did they go?" asked Harry.

"I smell cookies baking, so they may be down in the kitchen." said Leroy.

Harry rolled his eyes. "They had better not be just giving her cookies, she's going to ruin her appetite."

"Aw, how the tables have turned, I remember a time when you would have dreamed of having cookies for dinner." said Rudolph.

They went downstairs to the kitchen and saw Mercy munching happily on a cookie while in Sirius' arms. Mrs. Weasley pulling another tray of cookies out of the oven.

"How many has she had?" asked Harry looking skeptical.

"I've been watching, she's only had that one." said Mrs. Weasley.

"Not that Ron didn't try and give her another one." said Ginny.

"Yeah, like you didn't try either." said Ron quickly.

Harry looked at the two men standing behind him and gestured towards the little girl. "That's my daughter, Mercy Angel Potter."

Immediately they hurried over and began to coo over the child.

"Aww, she looks just like you when you were a baby, only just a wee bit cuter." said Leroy running a finger down the little girl's cheeks.

"Oh, little one, we are going to spoil you rotten...the way we should have spoiled your daddy." said Rudolph ending in a somber tone.

"Seriously, how can we make it up to you?" asked Leroy.

"Be in her life, that's how you repay me." said Harry with a shrug.

"Got it." said the two of them quickly, they weren't willing to just leave it at that, but for that moment...it was good enough.

* * *

It was two days before Christmas, though the girl known as Grace didn't know that. She was sitting in a windowless room, with a roaring fire and sitting in a large armchair with a thick blanket. She only had one visitor and one visitor only, the strange looking bald man that seemed to have been in a horrible accident at some point in his life brought her meals, tea and biscuits.

He wouldn't talk to her much, but sit and stare at her, which was a good thing, because she couldn't remember anything before waking up in a Manchester hospital and wasn't much of a conversationalist. She didn't know her name, and especially didn't know where she was right now. Though, the man was sort of nice...in an odd sort of way.

"May I go outside, sir? It's been so long since I've had some fresh air." said the girl.

"I'm afraid not, it's very chilly outside." said the man silkily. "You'll catch your death out there, my dear."

"Oh...alright...if it's warmer outside...tomorrow...?" asked the girl softly.

"We shall see, but I make no promises." he said with a cool smile.

Silence crept between the two of them, then the girl began to speak again. "What are we waiting for again?"

"We're waiting for your husband to come and fetch you." said the man, his smile growing wider.

"Are you _sure _I have a husband? I seem to be a little young for that." said the girl curiously.

"Oh yes, my dear, it stunned myself as well...but you _are _married to a very dear _friend _of mine."

The girl looked down at her warm cup of tea. "Is he much older than I?"

"About the same age as yourself, I believe." he said as he took a sip of his own tea.

"Why hasn't he come yet?" she asked.

"I don't..." said the man.

Then all of a sudden, the door crashed open and Lucius was standing in the room, thorny, flowered tendrils of some plant were creeping into the now opened room. The tendrils were ripping down paintings and wrapping itself around the door, crushing it and reducing it to splinters.

"My lord, we're under attack!" said Lucius shooting curses down the corridor, and trying to blast the plants back away from the ruined door.

"So you led them down here?" hissed Voldemort angrily.

"What...what is...?" said the girl confusedly, but just as she moved, one of the flowers on the vines, that had yet to blossom, opened it's petals and a shower of seeds flew into the air and landed on the ground, sprouting immediately.

Before she could blink, a large flower bloomed from under her seat and swallowed her whole.

Voldemort yelled loudly, but the flower then disappeared into the vines and they retreated out of the house and down into a hole outside the mansion.

Half a mile away, the vines came retreating back into a clear glass bowls full of blossoms and leaves. Rudolph and Leroy gathered up the bowls and fled, back to Headquarters, with the young girl named Grace safely tucked away in one of the blooms.

* * *

**Thanks for reading please review!**

**Remember, if you have a question, sign in or even go to my Facebook page and ask away!**

**Question of the Chapter: Hmmm...**_**What about this site drives you nuts, or what would you like to change?**_

**Putting the guest questions aside, I would like that if you have more than one piece fanart that is tied to your story, you can post it on here on the top of each chapter. That way, you don't have to bounce between deviantart or wherever. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Yeah, I know the chapter is short and I'm sorry. I've had so many hours lately and there has been no time to type and this chapter went through at least two revisions before I could settle on this one. I've also got to fix up my place and get it ready for relatives to come over and visit. **

**Question of the Chapter: **_**What about this site drives you nuts?**_

**Wow, only one person had an answer for that? Kind of shocked, but hey, it's a great website where we can all post our stuff and read what other fun ideas people have about our favorite fandoms. **

**Though I think that they fixed that little issue about pairing and the character things like that. It all falls back on the author and the way they set up their "Summary/Title" thing when they set up the new story. **

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Harry came racing down the stairs, Mercy bouncing happily in his arms and squealing with delight at the speed in which they were running. Sirius was trailing after him, trying to keep up and calm the youth down.

"Easy there, Cub, she's not going to go anywhere." said Sirius as he decided to slide down the last bannister to keep up with the teen..

"I lost her once, I _won't _lose her again." muttered Harry as he came to a halt before Mrs. Black's portrait and taking great care to sneak past her. He placed a finger to his lips and Mercy, thinking it's a game, copied him.

"I know that, I understand that, but you need to calm down, she's a mite nervous right now, and seeing you rush in there acting all frenzied may just scare her even more." said Sirius patting his shoulder kindly. "Just take it nice and slow."

Harry nodded numbly, took a deep breath and continued to walk towards the kitchen door. When they arrived to the one door separating Harry from someone he had thought he lost months ago, he looked back at Sirius nervously. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide with anxiety, his adrenaline and nerves clashing together, causing him to rethink his eagerness.

"Come on, let's go in together." said Sirius, seeing his godson a bit distraught, "Nice and calm like."

Sirius took Mercy out of Harry's arms and allowed him to enter the room first, as he was becoming increasingly more nervous by the moment, and if he were to go in last, Harry might lose the nerve he had on the way down and bolt.

They both entered the kitchen and the scene was very different from the one Sirius had left and the one Harry had expected. When he had left, the young girl was sitting quite comfortably in a large plush armchair and taking a cup of tea in a shaking hand. Now however, she was holding up one of the wooden chairs from the kitchen table and fending off the members of the Order that were standing in the room with her.

"Where am I?" What am I doing here? First you people take me from the hospital, and then I'm kept in a house with a very strange but nice man, and now I get abducted by a blinking flower? How did that flower do that? Wait never mind that, I don't want to know what sort of mad experiments you people do here, I demand to be released this minute!" shrieked the girl hotly as she swung the chair back and forth.

"Whoa, good pick!" said Sirius patting Harry on the back with a bright smile.

Harry just about collapsed to the floor in shock, there was Grace...it really _was _her, the sound of her voice, the way her eyes flashed in anger when someone was foolish enough to piss her off, and even that little habit of hers to wiggle her foot when she was standing in place. No amount of Polyjuice potion could produce that, it had to be her.

Though, he had seen her ticked off, but never this _pissed _before.

Harry looked down at Mercy and saw her eyes blinking owlishly at the hostile person before her, her arms outstretched to him, to be brought closer to his neck..he then looked back at her, he didn't need to look at Mercy to confirm who the person dressed in a green silk robe and a wrap of bandages around her red haired head.

"Gr-Grace?" stuttered Harry.

But she didn't respond, she kept on forcing the others back away from her and keeping her eyes on everyone in front of her. Madam Pomfrey slid carefully over to Harry and whispered in his ear.

"I'm sorry Potter, but I'm afraid that nasty knock to her head and perhaps some other trauma has caused her to...misplace a few of her memories." said Madam Pomfrey uneasily.

"She's got amnesia?" said Harry stunned. "And you can't fix it?"

"That's correct on both counts. The brain is a very sensitive thing, Potter, it's best not to fiddle with it as far as Healing goes. She'll have to recover that on her own, unfortunately. As far as I've gotten before she became too distressed, was that she can remember is the hospital she stayed in before the Death Eaters kidnapped her." said Madam Pomfrey.

"She...She doesn't remember anything? Nothing at all before that?" said Harry looking back at Mercy, his heart breaking slowly but surely.

"I'm afraid not, nothing before the hospital is coming to light; what is important now dear, is that she's is safe, and healthy." said Madam Pomfrey patting Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah...I...wh...wait..._healthy?_" said Harry looking at the Healer a shocked look on his face. "She's sick...terribly sick..."

"I'm not sure if it was the hospital she was in, or if it was (and I can't help but doubt it) You-Know-Who that cured whatever hindered her her entire life, but whatever it was, has been taken care of and removed." said Madam Pomfrey. "Severus had reported that he was not the You-Know-Who's only skilled potioneer or healer, and according to the Headmaster, when he was in school, You-Know-Who was skilled at potion making. Though there is also the possibility someone else there healed her." said Madam Pomfrey.

Harry blinked a few times. He hoped that someone else had saved her, he did _not _want to be indebted to Lord Voldemort...that was the last thing he wanted at this point.

Harry motioned Sirius to take a few steps back with Mercy and made his way tentatively towards the irate teenage girl, taking in every feature he thought he would never see again. How did she survive? He knew that they buried an empty casket with a few of her things inside...but how did she live? As she was now, she certainly couldn't offer any answers...especially when she was fending off Mrs. Weasley who was trying to offer her a cup of tea.

Harry cleared his throat loudly and tapped her shoulder, this scared the poor girl so much that she spun around on her heel, the chair still in her hands and nearly clipped Harry on the head with it. He stopped the chair in mid-spin with his forearm, he stumbled but regained his balance and smiled at the girl.

"Hey, my name's Harry...want to go for a walk?" said Harry.

The girl blinked. "Huh? Aren't I trapped in here, aren't I a prisoner? How can we go for a walk?" she asked suspiciously.

"You're not a prisoner, they're just worried about those bandages on your head and where you just were not even a day ago." said Harry pointing to the gauze wrapped around her head.

She reached up and touched the bandages carefully.

"But I don't think you could go all that horribly wrong with a walk..." said Harry with a smile. "We'll need to bring someone with us..."

"I _am_ a prisoner then!" snapped the girl picking up the chair and circling around, trying to keep everyone in her sights.

"No, I just can't be left on my own outside." said Harry holding up his hands placating the girl with a smile. "There's some blokes outside that might try to...well...kill me."

She blinked once more, lowered the chair and then placed her hands on her hips, "Well, if there is someone out there that wants to kill you, then perhaps a walk isn't the best idea." she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's not all that safe, but I think we can risk a fifteen minute walk, surely?" said Harry sending a poignant glance to Mrs. Weasley.

"I think we can arrange that, Harry." said Mr. Weasley with a smile behind his wife.

"Harry?" said the girl looking at the teen she was talking to. "Mr. Voldemort, (a few of the Order members flinched) and Mr. Malfoy said that my husband's name was Harry..."

Harry looked shocked for a moment, but then he smiled. "It all depends, is your name Grace? That was my wife's name."

"Was?" asked the girl with a frown.

"I lost her in an explosion at a hospital." said Harry.

The girl looked at Harry pityingly. "I'm sorry...I don't remember any explosion, so that's not me. _(Yes, you are_,thought Harry) But how can you or I be married? We're both too young." she then leaned forward. "Were we gypsies?" she added in a whisper.

"I'm not and I'm not sure you are. My Grace was pretty sick, so we got married early in life, we even had a baby." said Harry looking back at Mercy.

She looked over at the baby and squealed, Harry's eyes lit up hopefully.

"Oh, she's adorable! Can I hold her?"

Harry sighed dishearteningly, that was not the response he was hoping for, but it's something. "Maybe later, sorry but I'm pretty protective of her."

The girl looked over at Harry, and nodded. "Yeah, if someone is out to hurt you, I can understand that.. How do I prove to you that I don't want to hurt her?"

"If you and I go on that walk, and if I learn more about you, then sure, you can hold her when we get back." said Harry with a smile.

"But _I _don't know anything about _me." _said the girl hopelessly throwing her hands up in defeat.

Harry then extended his hand to her, with a bright and cheery smile. "Then let's discover who you are together."

She blinked and looked down at the hand curiously.

* * *

"_Ignore him, he just a big fat dummy." _

"_It's kinda hard when I have to live with him." _

"_Whatchor name?" _

"_Harry..." _

"_Want to be my friend?" _

"_But I don't know you and you don't know me...you may not wanna be friends with me." _

"_When I'm nervous, my dad always takes my hand and says...let's discover what it is together, so let's discover who we are together."_

* * *

"Dear?" came a voice jolting her back to the present, it was the motherly looking woman placing a tender hand on her shoulder. She seemed to think that now that the chair was removed to the other side of the room, she was safe from being clocked.

She looked up and then looked back at Harry's hand, she placed her own in his hand and followed him out the kitchen door.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review!**

**Question of the Chapter! **_**Is there still a cartoon that you watch in your late teen/adult years? **_

**I can't get away from a BUNCH of them. I still watch Looney Tunes, (original not the "Looney Tunes Show") Scooby Doo (original) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (original and the uber violent one) Gummi Bears, Darkwing Duck, Tailspin, Ducktails, Swat Kats, the list goes on. You go and binge watch those...and then you switch to watch an episode or two of what's hot on TV now...you really worry about how the quality of artwork and writing has fallen. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, I'm very sorry that it took me all damn day to get this updated. I had to work very early this morning and the Struggle to Salvation chapter took FOREVER to convert to the format it has to be. And I'm also sorry about the shortness, it's been a very...uninspired week.**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The streets in front of Grimmauld Place were lightly dusted with freshly fallen snow the bright colors of holiday lights twinkling from within the buildings lining the street pronounced to disbelievers that Christmas was indeed coming very soon.

With Remus and Moody following a few steps behind them, Harry and Grace walked down the streets of Grimmauld Place and towards a few of the nearby shops. They popped in at a few stores along the street and picked up a few treats to snack on back at Headquarters and Harry picked up a few last minute holiday purchases for Mercy. Unless Harry asked Grace what she thought of the items for Mercy, they walked in silence, but then Harry broke through that void.

"So...what's your favorite food?" asked Harry.

Grace blinked and looked over to Harry. "I don't know, I don't remember."

"Well, I could go for something to eat for lunch, there's a diner right down the way if you want to get a bite to eat." said Harry pointing a little further down the street.

"I don't have any money, and," she leaned closer to him and whispered. "it doesn't look like either of them have any money either." she said nodding back to Remus and Moody.

"That's okay, I've got more than enough money on this." said Harry with a smile and taking out a bank card. "My treat."

They entered the diner and sat in one of the back tables, while Remus and Moody took a booth in the back corner. Moody kept his magical eye hidden under a bowler hat and kept an eye on the surrounding area, while Remus kept an eye on Harry and Grace.

A waitress came up to the two young teens, putting down two menus and smiled. "Hey there, kids, what can I get for you two to drink?"

"We're with them," said Harry nodding over to Remus and Moody. "We'll have a Coke and a Ginger Beer."

"Did...your Grace...like Coke?" said Grace quietly as the waittress walked away to take Remus and Moody's orders.

"Nah, she couldn't stand the stuff, the Ginger Beer is yours." said Harry absently as he picked up the menu, but then he looked up with an apologetic look. "Sorry if I..."

"No...that's alright...maybe I like it." said Grace with a shy smile. "Do you really believe that I may be..._your _Grace?"

"You look like her, you talk like her, you walk like her...and you even wiggle your foot when you're not walking around." said Harry with a smile as he placed his right foot on top of Grace's wiggling left foot.

"_She _did that?" said Grace with a whisper.

Harry nodded. "And Madam Pomfrey checked between you and Mercy..._you _are _my_ Grace."

"And we're really married?" said Grace.

Harry nodded.

* * *

Remus kept an eye on the two kids as they sat at their own table, holding hands and smiling. "Seems like they're having a good time, she seems calmer now."

"We shouldn't be out in the open like this, we could be ambushed." said Moody keeping his magical eye firmly on the diner staff, especially where it concerned their orders. Moody had ordered nothing but that didn't stop him from keeping an eye on the kid's food and drink.

"She was not going to settle down without some special intervention, Harry is calming her." said Remus.

"And Poppy's certain that she's the girl that Potter married?" said Moody. "Could be under Polyjuice..."

"And doesn't your eye see through that particular enchantment including quite a few others?" said Remus with a smirk. "If you can't see anything, then she's fine."

* * *

"Have you kids decided what you want?" asked the waittress bringing their drinks.

"I'll have the stroganoff, Grace?" asked Harry with a smile.

"Uh..." said Grace looking a little hopelessly at Harry, who smiled softly.

"She'll have the chicken pot pie." said Harry as he handed the waittress the menu. "With an extra bit of gravy on the side."

"Alright." said the waittress with a smile as she went to get Remus and Moody's orders.

"Do I like that?" asked Grace.

"If you could have it morning, noon and night you would." said Harry with a smile.

"And the extra gravy?" asked Grace putting her chin on the top of her hand.

"You used to pour it over the top. Take a bite of it before you pour the gravy all over it if you want, see if you still like it that way." said Harry.

"You sure know a lot about me." said Grace.

"You were my entire world...you still are..." said Harry with a loving smile.

He ignored the groan coming from the booth where Moody and Remus sat. "Sappy..." muttered Moody.

* * *

"So...will I see Mr. Voldemort again?" asked Grace as they walked back from the diner.

Harry stopped and looked at Grace in shock. "I...I really hope not...why do you ask?"

"Why won't we? If he was your friend...though why you had to rip me out of there the way you did..." said Grace thoughtfully.

"He was no friend of mine, he's...he's the one trying to kill me." said Harry.

"That can't be right, he took very good care of me, he was nice." said Grace looking confused and staring at Harry in disbelief.

Harry sighed. "While I'm grateful that he was nice to you, I can promise you that he was never nice to me. In fact, if I was certain Professor Lupin wasn't listening, I'd have some choice words about him."

Grace looked conflicted, but she didn't say anymore till they neared Grimmauld Place. Moody placed a hand over her eyes and Remus carried her inside.

"Moody figures this is safer, in case...well...we lose her again to Death Eaters." whispered Remus apologetically to Harry.

"I can still hear you." snapped Grace.

Harry rolled his eyes, "He tried to do that with Mercy too when he joined us on our walks."

When they got inside, Remus put Grace down, Grace looked around till she found Harry and smiled as he took her by the hand. "Want to see Mercy now?"

Grace nodded and allowed herself to be led the drawing room.

* * *

Till the holidays finally arrived, Grace melded into the festive scene. She still did not remember anything outside the hospital she was found in by Lucius, but she was more than happy to having a good holiday.

At first, she wanted to help Mrs. Weasley bake and cook the Christmas dinner, but after she had inadvertently ruined the large pot of soup she was in charge of by adding too much seasoning, causing it to boil over and burning some of the more delicate ingredients inside.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" said Grace quickly and made to reach out to move the pot from the heat, she was pulled away from the heat of the pot by Harry (who seemed to pop up out of nowhere).

"It's too hot to touch with your bare hands." said Harry holding Grace's wrists from behind.

Grace herself felt heat rise up her face and form a brilliant blush. She had to admit, since it was proven that she _was _his wife...every time he touched her, and even the brief moment before...he touched her so softly...it was like a live action romance book! He knew that a fifteen year old boy could be so...romantic...and really sexy?

"Let me help." he said with a smile. He threw on two oven mitts and removed the pot and placed it in the sink to cool. "Want me to help you make a new soup?"

"We only have an hour till dinner." said Grace putting a hand to her red face.

"All the time I'll need for the soup I've got in mind." said Harry with a smile. He coaxed Grace into helping him tip different ingredients into a large pot and then mash a bit of pumpkin into a liquid. Once their hour was up, happily bubbling in the pot was a tasty pumpkin soup.

"That was so easy! Where did you learn how to make that?" asked Grace happily as she watched as Mrs. Weasley levitated the pot onto the dinner table.

Harry was quiet for a moment, but then whispered. "Your mom, it was your grandmother's recipe."

Grace looked up to Harry for a moment, and then began to cry softly.

"I'm sorry..." said Harry quickly.

"I'm sorry too, I wish I could remember them...could they have survived the explosion?" asked Grace.

Harry shook his head slowly. "No...we found them, but we didn't find you, I'm sorry."

Grace wiped her eyes and looked around the kitchen, everyone was mulling around, putting plates and silverware here and there, slicing up a fresh loaf of bread, and stringing a few more paper chains around the kitchen cabinets. Sirius was carving up the turkey on the kitchen counter and Remus was standing next to him, chatting as he mashed a bowl of potatoes.

"It's kind of odd...looking around at everyone here, they have family, I don't." said Grace.

Harry gave her hand a squeeze, "Yes you do, you have Mercy and I." said Harry.

"I mean...a father and a mother." said Grace with a slight snap.

"I don't either." said Harry carefully. "It's hard at first, when it dawns on you...but then after a while, you just go with it, some people celebrate the people that aren't there, some others just muck on through." he added with a smile. "I can help you celebrate your parents if you want."

Grace looked down and nodded slowly.

"It'll be fine." said Harry.

She then looked up at Harry. "I didn't get Mercy anything for Christmas."

"I got her some things from the both of us, not a lot, everyone else is going to be spoiling her rotten this year." said Harry with a laugh. "But when it's Mercy's birthday, you and I are both going to go out shopping."

"I'd like that." said Grace with a smile.

Dinner that night was a very merry affair, many more people than just the current inhabitants of Grimmauld Place arrived to take part in Mercy's first and Grace's first magical Christmas Eve. The staff that were members of the Order all came to spend the evening with them.

They had told them that the castle, for the first time in over two hundred years was completely empty of any students staying over the holidays. Umbridge, (before the holidays had even started) was going around describing what her plans were for the holidays and tried to get a few children in on the festivities. It mostly involved sickening handmade Christmas presents, and primary level crafted holiday cards. The students seeing how pathetic their holidays might turn into and how much of a blow to their egos would suffer, decided to go home and leave those that wanted to revisit their toddlerhood...which turned into no one. So the teachers had no one to watch over that year, thus they went where they want to go for the holidays, leaving Umbridge, Filch and Snape to watch over the school while they were gone for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The tree that was placed down in the living room was now almost completely buried by different toys for Mercy and even some magical gifts for Grace. It seemed that having a baby in their midst created a bit of a shopping frenzy amongst the adults and they were eager to by something for the toddler.

Said toddler was mashing her potatoes with such enthusiasm that a bit of it landed in her father's hair.

"Easy there, shortcake, try and make some of that into your mouth." said Harry with a smile.

"Aww...her nickname is shortcake? I thought Turtle would be better, she's such a cute crawler." said Grace with a coo as she helped get the potatoes out of his hair.

Harry's eyes flashed over to her and smiled brightly. "That _was_ your nickname for her."

Grace blinked a few times. "Really?"

Harry nodded and Grace smiled happily, she remembered something, that had to be the best present she could have gotten. She leaned over and kissed Mercy on the cheek. "Mummy remembered something Turtle! She remembered something!"

Mercy seemed to enjoy the revelation just as her mother did, (not that she knew what it was) for she squealed happily and returned the kiss she had received. Harry smiled so bright and sincere that it shocked the rest of the people in the room, it wasn't often that Harry smiled.

This was the best holiday they could have asked for.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review!**

**There is no Question of the Chapter. It's the anniversary of my mother passing away this week so...yeah...**


	16. Chapter 16

**Yay, another update! Ugh, I had a long week and it is only going to get more hectic once the kids go back to school. Not my kids, but the kids I work with, granted, chances are that I'm going to get A LOT more hours, which only impedes the time I have to type up the chapters. I lucked out that Struggle to Salvation was so short this week. **

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next morning, most of the people from last night had gathered once more into Grimmauld Place and settled into the room where the large pile of presents were standing. A few promised to stop in later that morning, as they had some things to attend to, but they Mrs. Weasley was told to expect them at least for lunch and dinner.

Though most of the inhabitants of Grimmauld Placer were up at eight o'clock or earlier, Harry had woken up at nine-thirty and was presented with a splitting headache. His sleep was plagued by terrifying dreams of a bright gleaming sword and crashing down on his chest stabbing hm in the chest, and causing him a great deal of pain a total of four times, then a vision of himself, and the great snake of Voldemort's flashed in front of his waking eyes. He had jolted awake and gasped, chest heaving and cold sweat pouring down his face.

Through the pounding of his headache, Harry dressed Mercy in a little green and red velvet dress with tiny Christmas tress embroidered into the green fabric of the skirt and holly berries in the red velvet blouse and brought her downstairs. Mercy extended her arms and gripped Harry's cheeks, pulled herself close to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Some one's been showing you those mistletoe sprigs..." said Harry with a small, tired smile as he saw a bundle of mistletoe hanging from one of the decapitated elf head. Harry was still confused as the sight of the heads didn't cause his daughter to cry. It scared Grace the first time she had seen them, so much that she didn't want to go upstairs whatsoever the first week, but she seemed to inherit her daddy's bravery. "Daddy needs a cup of coffee, or daddy's going to be grumpy."

"I've got a pot on the stove...ouch...you look _rough. _Like, stampeded by raging Erumpents rough." said Sirius walking out from a nearby room with a few wrapped parcels.

"I had a nasty set of nightmares last night or this morning, whenever..." said Harry as he handed Mercy to Sirius. "Here, go to Grampa, Daddy's got to go..._arrgh!" _screamed Harry clutching his head and falling to his knees.

"Harry!"

Mercy, thankfully, had already been handed off to Sirius as her father crashed to the ground. Sirius handed her over to Remus who came out of the same room as he did, placed the parcels on the floor and knelt down to pick Harry up off the floor. He pushed through the crowd of people that came running at the loud shout, took Harry into the living room and placed him on the sofa.

Harry took several deep breaths and forced his eyes to open. He ran a hand over his once more cold sweat drenched face and looked up to Sirius. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry, are you alright?" asked Sirius worriedly. He took a wet, cool rag and wiped the sweat off his godson's forehead.

"Yeah, I think so..." said Harry.

"What's going on?" came Grace's voice as she moved through the people. "Harry! Are you okay?" she flung herself to the coach accepting the rag from Sirius.

"I'm okay." said Harry with a weak smile as she tended to him. "This happens sometimes, though it hasn't happened in a while."

After Harry had recovered from his fall, Mrs. Weasley threw a few blankets over him and placed a piping hot pot of tea and a few scones nearby in case he was in need of a bit of extra nourishment.

"So tell me again, why we brought all of our presents down?" asked Ron putting his stack near the tree and just within reach. "Bad enough we've got to wait till morning, but now we got to wait till...whenever?"

"Well, it's tradition in Grace's family that on Christmas morning, one person goes to the pile and pulls random gifts out and hands them out to the people that they are addressed to." said Harry. "I figured, this being our first Christmas with Mercy and having Grace back, it'd be nice to do things her family's way."

"This sounds like fun!" said Mr. Weasley happily as he took a drink of coffee. "We can say thank you right away and throw on the sweaters!"

"And if one of us get's underwear for Christmas?" said Fred.

"We don't have to throw on the new underwear do we?" asked George.

"Only if we can take pictures" said Grace sitting with Harry's head on her lap and Mercy sitting on his stomach.

"You're showing again." said Harry with a smile.

"I know. I kind of like the uninhibited version of me." said Grace leaning down and kissing Harry's head. "Being shy was nice, but I think I'm remembering how much I don't care what others think...to a degree. So who is going to be the one to hand out the presents?"

"I want to!" said Sirius with a smile as he moved from behind the couch to the floor before them all.

"Let's see, now I think most of these were for Mercy so...find one that isn't..." said Sirius as he dug out all the squashy looking presents. "Should I give out all the sweaters Molly?"

"Oh, yes...a little extra warmth this morning might do Harry some good." said Mrs. Weasley.

Everyone in the room, even Grace and Mercy received a wrapped present and they all unwrapped to find a warm Weasley sweater.

"I didn't quite know your size dear, but I made it around the size I make for Harry." said Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh it's lovely!" said Grace looking at her light blue sweater with a bright pink heart in the middle with the word '_Mummy' _written in the heart in blue thread. She looked down at Harry's and saw a green sweater with a red shield with the word '_Daddy' _written in green thread. Mercy's tiny sweater had a pastel pink teddy bear head with _'Baby'_

"Ooh! I want a picture!" said Grace looking at their sweaters.

"I've got a camera upstairs." said Harry. "At least we'll be able to know who's sweater is who's. You had a tendency to steal my sweaters."

"Oh, I'm sure I didn't." said Grace indignantly.

"Yes you did, you only stopped when I told you the sweaters used to be Dudley's." said Harry with a laugh.

"I don't remember Dudley." said Grace looking confused.

"You're lucky." said Fred, George, Ron and Harry.

* * *

The presents went zooming through, as most of them were for Mercy, and soon it was discovered that Sirius was going to have to clear out a much larger room than the toy room he cleared out for her, for all the toys that Mercy had received.

She had gotten at least twenty new soft toys, sixteen outfits that she would grow into, and about thirty-seven books for Harry to read from.

"You know, I never did finish that fairy tale...the book is still at Hogwarts..." said Harry thoughtfully.

"That's alright, it'll keep, you can easily get back to it." said Sirius as he rubbed his #1 Grandpa mug fondly. "I'm going to go break this in, anyone want something from the kitchen?"

Before anyone could say anything, the front door opened and then closed. After a minute or two, McGonagall and Dumbledore came into the living room. The Head of Gryffindor Tower startled her vacationing lions with a warm smile and Dumbledore gently placed a reasonably large sack down on the floor.

"Season's Greetings, everyone." said Dumbledore with a bright smile. "I see Mercy found her new soft turtle."

"Pah!" squealed Mercy as she waved her green plush turtle.

"What's in the bag Dumbledore?" asked Bill. "Kind of late to play Father Christmas, isn't it?"

"Not until she's older will I take on that role. No need in frightening the poor angel...what I have in there...is something exclusively for Harry...May I have a moment or two with him in private?" said Dumbledore with a twinkling smile.

"Looks like we're all going to the kitchen...come on you lot." said Mrs. Weasley as she ushered the Weasley children, Grace and Mercy into the kitchen. Once they were all secured away, Dumbledore took a seat beside where Harry lay and smiled apologetically.

"I must first apologize for the state that I have put you in." said Dumbledore.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry with a groan as he tried to sit up.

"Well, to be completely honest, the pain you have suffered this morning, was caused in part by myself." said Dumbledore.

Harry was confused. "How is that possible, you weren't even here."

"No, I was not, but the cause of your pain was truly the results of my actions this morning."

Harry's confusion did not lessen, so Dumbledore brought the bag a bit closer over to couch. He opened the bag and pulled out several different objects. There was the diary of Tom Riddle, a strange looking ring, (Dumbledore placed a protective spell over his hands when he touched that particular item) a gold chalice, a locket that looked oddly familiar and a delicate tiara.

"What's with all this stuff?" asked Harry.

* * *

Grace hitched Mercy up on her hip a little higher and looked at the doorway nervously.

"Is everything alright you think?" asked Grace. "They've been talking a long time."

"It's fine." said Sirius as he took a drink of water. "I'm glad he's taking this path as opposed to the alternative...I'd kick his old ass personally."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione.

"Are you going to tell us what has _you_ looking so happy?" asked Remus looking at McGonagall vainly trying to change the subject.

"Oh...just something that I have been hoping that would happen ever since I met the foul woman." said McGonagall.

"This ought to be good." said Bill.

"What woman?" asked Grace.

"Delores Umbridge, she was the current Defense Against the Dark Art's professor and was the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. Though she has now been removed from all positions and if the courts take the correct path and do not try and sweep it under the rug, she will never regain either of those titles. She was arrested in collaboration with the explosion that nearly killed Potter and young Mercy." said McGonagall. "Regardless if she is found not guilty, there should be enough doubt to ensure that she will never be in the near vicinity of a child again."

The students stared dumbfounded and then Fred and George began dancing around the kitchen joyfully.

"_She's gone! She's gone! She's gone! She's gone!" _chanted Fred and George.

"How did they collar her with the crime?" asked Sirius. "I thought they scoured the castle from top to bottom..."

"It was in the one place the Aurors did not have access to, her quarters. They found a bit of the explosive powder in one of her trunks, at first she tried to say that one of the students had stole into her room and planted it there. However, he room was locked, her trunk was magically sealed with spells far stronger than any seventh year and under could break, and no other magical signature was found in proximity to the trunk." said McGonagall. "If she is found guilty, she will face fifty years for attempted murder and about one hundred and fourty seven counts of child endangerment, carrying five years per count."

"Oof, she won't get out...ever..." said Sirius with a chuckle.

"Good." said the students together.

"Now we just have to hope that the Minister doesn't try to get her off." said Ron darkly.

"Don't ruin our holiday, Ron." said Ginny.

* * *

"So...what you're saying is...now all that is left is me and the snake of Voldemort's. That and he probably knows that they're all destroyed?" said Harry as he dropped the locket in the bag.

"Correct, but let me say this, I have been gathering these objects for many weeks and I had every intention of letting you destroy them. But every time that that particular plan came to the surface of my mind, so did the vision of you playing with young Mercy."

"By my actions, I had inadvertently took her mother away from her, by not taking the responsibility and correcting the misfortunes of my actions." said Dumbledore.

"What are you talking about?"

"My dear Harry, I at many points in the past, could have taken Tom aside in his schooling and tried to guide him onto a better path. I apparently could not be bothered to do such and left him to go down the path he was treading. I also could have insisted on more of an investigation in the events of Hagrid's expulsion and with if we had, I'm sure Tom, regardless of how fond Headmaster Dippet was of him, would have been expelled. While he had a basic grasp on Occlumency he would not have been able hide from my own mental investigation." said Dumbledore somberly.

Harry blinked.

"So...I decided to disregard my initial plans and come up with something a bit different, one where you did not have to fight." said Dumbledore with a kind smile.

"So...what's going to happen now?" asked Harry.

"Now? I will...advise you...to not go back to Hogwarts until Lord Voldemort is finally defeated. I had thought that indeed Hogwarts was the safest place for you...but with him now aware that his Horcruxes were..."

Suddenly, a loud explosion crashed through the front part of Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore caught Harry before he could topple off the couch and looked towards the direction of the sound.

"Don't go anywhere, I'll send the others back in here."

But Harry didn't want to wait for anyone to join him in the living room and followed Dumbledore out to the source of the noise. What he saw...made this Christmas possibly the worst one he could have ever feared for. There in the street, stood Lord Voldemort, and there also stood Grace, with Mercy in her arms staring horrified at the man leading the masked figures standing behind him.

Sirius, Remus and the rest of the Order drew their wands and prepared to duel the Death Eaters and give the children a chance to get away to safety. Sirius focused on his cousin Bellatrix, till he could see a small figure crouching behind her dress, a look of tragic horror was on it's face as he gazed at the destroyed front of the house.

"_Kreacher! _You traitorous little...Dumbledore's wishes or not, when I get a hold of you, you're getting clothes, you little bastard!" shouted Sirius angrily.

"Hello, Harry." said Lord Voldemort with a sneer.

"Harry, you and the rest of the children go back inside." said Dumbledore without turning around. "Tom, you will forever regret coming here today."

Mrs. Weasley pulled the children back to the house and doubled back to get Harry and Grace. But Lord Voldemort, seeing Grace and the baby didn't wish to let this chance get away, and in an instant, a green colored curse was sent streaking through the air towards the two girls.

Harry stared horrified at the light and ran towards the two most important females in his life. He couldn't lose Grace again, not after getting her back, and he knew his heart would not survive the loss of Mercy. So...to give them an extra few minutes to get away...he placed himself in front of Grace and Mercy.

"_HARRY_! _Dah dah_!"

The light crashed against his chest, and his vision was blocked by a bright green light.

Then all went black and he felt no more.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review.**

**Question of the chapter: Hmm...It's that time of year when the county fairs are going on...**_**What is your favorite ride? Given how the names vary, describe what the ride is. **_

**My favorite ride is called the Tilt-A-Whirl, it's like this big hollowed out oval, where you sit in it and you can spin around inside, while the thing you sit in goes up and down on a wavy ramp, all the while spinning in a circle, I'll have the picture on the Facebook page if you have no idea which one I'm talking about, my descriptions of Fair rides suck. **

**I remember one time I was at the state fair with my FCCLA clubmates and I went on a ride that was a "haunted house". I had a younger student with me, only about a grade or two lower and we rode the ride together. When it first started she latched onto my arm and screamed when the first thing came jumping out at us. She would not let go of my arm the entire time! When we got out, the others laughed that we were screaming so loud, I wanted to show them the nail marks in my arm and tell them that it wasn't me, and if I did scream it was because of the pain of my arm being shredded by her long nails! It was an alright ride, but I didn't go through it again. **

**The Star Shooter was my second favorite ride, that's the one that looks like a top and spins around really fast so you can defy gravity and turn yourself upside down or sit against the walls. I loved to sit right on the side of the walls and just feel the G-Forces pull me back, it was really sweet, I went on that ride like five times in one afternoon. I'll also put that ride on the Facebook page. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay, in my haste, I forgot something very important. The website here doesn't know what to do with my little "O"s that I have breaking up the sets. So, here's a revised. **

**Yes, this is the final chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it very much. **

**I don't own Harry Potter. **

* * *

Harry was expecting pain...agonizing, soul tearing pain...but it never came. He didn't even feel himself fall...he thought he was still standing up. Though, when he opened his eyes he could see that he was lying down on _what _he couldn't quite figure out. At first, it felt hard and solid, but then it turned soft and cool to the touch, like a slightly chilled pillow.

His eyes flickered open and he could now see exactly what he was lying on, or at least what it looked like. It seemed to be that he was lying on a fluffy cloud, which was impossible as not even a moment ago he was falling towards the hard asphalt road. When he moved his hand, the cloud itself moved ever so slightly with him. He stood up and as if it were waiting for him to rise, the cloud rose as well, taking him into the air.

He looked around, not seeing anything but more clouds surrounding him, till he looked to his right. At first he thought he was alone, but in truth he was not. There on a similar cloud next to him was a tiny figure, curled up into a ball and whimpering. Harry moved to reach out to it, horrified that it might be Mercy and that she had been caught in the crossfire. But, when the figure turned slightly and looked up at him, he withdrew his hand and gave a loud shout.

The skin of this...creature...was pulled so tightly over it's bones that it was almost transparent. The head was completely bald with blue veins visible on it's skin. The eyelids themselves were also transparent and Harry could see gleaming red eyes from the closed lids.

The creature opened it's eyes and slowly looked up to Harry. With a horrifying screech, it made to lunge at Harry, but strangely, the creature could not seem to escape it's own cloud and make it onto Harry's.

Harry made to whip his wand out of his pocket and hex the creature further away from him, but found he did not have his wand, he didn't even have clothes. He wasn't even wearing the sweater he had just gotten. He was now wearing a plain white robes and was now completely barefoot, and without pants.

He was still looking at himself when he noticed that his cloud stopped. He looked up, expecting to just see more clouds and what he saw...he had a sinking feeling he knew where he had stopped, but that did not stop his jaw from dropped in awe.

Despite there being clouds everywhere, it was full of lush vegetation, sweet smelling grass, fruit bearing trees and berry filled bushes. There were small rivers and waterfalls cascading down as far as the eye could see. Creatures great and small roamed unchecked through the area and undisturbed by the countless people wandering around them.

And the people, oh the people! There had to be thousands of them, all wearing different colored robes, and walking around chatting with each other.

As he took a step forward, a great golden gate shimmered into view between him and virtual paradise before him. He placed his hands on the metal, finding it strangely icy cold to the touch. He looked up and down the gate to try and find a door, but not a single entrance was to be found.

As he traveled a bit further down the way, a large pedestal with a large, thick book appeared with someone sitting behind it. He had dark skin, light gray hair and a smile on his face.

"Over hear, young man." said the man cordially.

Harry looked around behind himself and then walked slowly over to him.

"Now...let's see...name?" asked the man opening the book.

"Uh...Harry...Harry Potter...sir." said Harry. "Where...where am I?"

"You, my lad, are before the great pearly gates of heaven, itself." said the man as he flicked through the pages. "Now, let's see, Harland...Harod...there we are...Harry...Harry Brown...Harry Micheals...ah! Potter! Here we are...hmm..."

Harry shuffled his feet and looked off to the side. Then he noticed something interesting, standing to the left was a large sign made of gold with silver lettering.

"_Thou shalt not..._"

Harry read down the list, recognizing it after a few moments as the Ten Commandments from the Bible, why would they be put there? Does it mean that if you do a few or even one of them you get sent..._to the other place?_ Harry read through the list again.

No other god...well, he most certainly didn't believe in anyone else...especially not now. And he certainly didn't put anyone else on the same level.

Did he say God's name in vain...hmm...he might of...then again...since he became a wizard he was saying more "Merlin" as opposed to anything else so that limited using the Lord's name...well shoot, he hoped it didn't mean he put Merlin before Him.

Sabbath day, ah, well, that might be where it gets a bet hinky...

He never had interactions with his parents, other than last summer, and he certainly listened to them then, hopefully they didn't mean honor Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

Adultery? Well he knew he was given a pass on that, Grace and he were married before they even attempted, they may have tried at first, but her parents put a halt to it before they went too far.

Well, he was nailed for the stealing, while he himself may not have done the actual stealing, he certainly didn't stop his friends that _were _doing the nicking.

Lying...well...he's nailed for that, he lied to Snape at least once, lied to Aunt Marge every time she came over...he won't get a pass from this one.

Well, he didn't want anything from his neighbor or anyone else, 'cept maybe a family but that was something you can't take away like that.

Kill? Dumbledore said that he was not responsible for Quirrel's death and the only thing he happened to kill was a basilisk, other than that...that's an easy pass...he didn't really want to kill anyone.

So all in all, he knew he was guilty of two of them, maybe four if they get technical. Hopefully they waived on those two...hopefully.

"Lad?"

Harry snapped back to the figure before him. "Sorry..."

"It's alright, I've seen many people come to these gates...I'm sort of surprised every time someone like you comes along." said the man smiling softly down at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You're taking being...here...rather well...you are looking at the Commandments and even weighing if you have done any of them." said the man with a light chuckle. "Though...looking at your page, I can say there's no doubt where you belong."

Harry gulped.

"You belong back on earth."

Harry blinked. "Wait...what?"

"The task you were given, is not done yet." said the man with a smile.

"Task, what task?" asked Harry. "Nobody told me about any task."

The man chucked. "It's understandable how you would not remember it, you were not long in life when you first came back. But it was appointed to you...to defeat Tom Riddle."

"And who 'appointed' a baby that little job?" sighed Harry.

"He did." said the man turning a looking at the area beyond the pearly gate. Harry looked as well and just as the clouds parted, the base of what looked like an enormously large throne high up on the clouds. He could just barely make out an equally large pair of sandaled feet.

"...oh..." said Harry looking down carefully. "But Dumbledore said he was going to..."

"While his intentions are good, he can never succeed, he can get close, but unless it is you, and you alone...Riddle will grip to life and destroy all that has been built by your people." said the man. "Unfortunately, it's not always easy being personally chosen to do great things."

"So...I've got to _kill _him...isn't that a ticket..." he pointed down.

"You've been granted a pardon..." said the man with a smile. "While you can't come and stay beyond the gates just yet, I have been told that there are a few people that would like to talk with you."

The gates opened slowly, sending a thrill straight through Harry's entire being. As they doors moved, it gave off the sound like that of a wind chime.

"Now, just go straight on ahead, I'll give you a few moments of privacy before I come to fetch you. Oh, and don't try and hide...we'll find you, no matter where you are." said the man with a smile.

Harry walked slowly ahead, he felt a bit nervous...who wanted to see him, he hoped it was it was the pair of people he wanted to talk to the most...

"Oh Harry!" said a woman with long red hair and bright green eyes. She came around a thick group of trees and rushed over to where he was standing. Without a moment's hesitation, she brought him into her arms. "Oh my little baby, I can finally _hold _you again!"

"You got so big..." said a man that looked just like Harry, he was wiping his eyes. "Granted, we saw you last summer, but...I still can't get over it."

Harry smiled brightly from his mother's embrace at his father's face and then looked behind her. There was Grace's parents, smiling at him, yet giving him space to be with his own family.

"Hello son, good to see you again." said Mr. Cross. "Sorry...about...well...leaving you like that."

Mrs. Cross nodded. "If we had the choice, we never would have left."

"I'm that one that has to be sorry, if I hadn't of...come into Grace's life..." said Harry, tears suddenly coming into his eyes.

"If you hadn't, Mercy wouldn't be in the world, and Grace most certainly would have died from her illness, and would never have had the pure joy and happiness that she will have in her life. You were made for each other, dear." said Mrs. Cross coming over and cupping the sobbing boy's head in her hands. "And we will forever be grateful that you came into our lives."

Harry sniffed softly and wiped his eyes clear of the tears.

"Now cub, we know you can't stay for long, and there are _so _many people we want to introduce you to, but that'll wait till you come back for good, which personally I hope takes a long time, I want to have Great-Great-Grandchildren at least running around before you come back to stay." said James bringing Harry into his arms, memorizing the feel and smell of his son so that he would forever remember it. "But it looks like Peter's ready to take you outside."

"Peter?" asked Harry looking back at the dark skinned man.

"He's the gate watcher for the day. Everyone gets a turn." said James with a smile. "Which is great, I mean, watching you is awesome, but...it's too _heavenly_ up here, get's boring."

"Ignore your father, he loves that joke." said Lily shaking her head.

"James here was the one that greeted us. I thought paradise was full of mad people after seeing him right at the gate." said Mr. Cross with a laugh pointing at James.

"Peter saw your name on the new arrivals and told us you were stopping by today so we came." said Lily with a smile.

Harry was beginning to have a million question pile up in his head and pour out of his mouth, but James held up his hands.

"Easy cub, you'll get all your answers when you come back to stay, but I hope that you are old, gray and have Great-Great-Great-Great Grandchildren that you can come and brag to us about." said James with a wink.

* * *

Dumbledore was furious, no he was beyond furious, right before his eyes...the father of his goddaughter, his protege, his most treasured student was killed. He couldn't send a protective spell to the lad in time, and he had fallen...fallen trying to protect his wife and daughter...he just got them both back in his life...

A hot bubbling rage burned deep within him, and without hesitation, blasted the opposing Death Eaters away into the nearby buildings, knocking them out and leaving just the members of the Order and a few Death Eaters dueling off to the sides. His eyes were locked only on the man struggling to get back on his feet, he had fallen immediately after he killed Harry. Tom would regret this, till the ends of his days...he would see to that.

Sirius was standing before the fallen body of his godson and with Remus was fighting off both Peter and Macnair. McGonagall was standing alongside Dumbledore, prepared to duel the Dark Lord with her mentor.

Moody was squaring off against Lucius Malfoy while Kingsley was staring down Rookwood, Tonks would have joined her colleagues, but was ordered to get the children to safety.

Mr. Weasley was sending curse after curse after the Dark Lord's snake before it could make it's way to the kids that were hiding in the now damaged house of Grimmauld Place. His wife was dueling Bellatrix, who was trying to send curses back to the house where the children were at.

"I swear Tom, you will regret what you just did." said Dumbledore darkly.

"Regret? I have been _dreaming _of this moment for _years_, I regret NOTHING!" hissed Voldemort as he took his wand in hand and began cursing the old man in front of him relentlessly.

"Minerva, go get Harry out of here, I will not let Tom defile him further." said Dumbledore sternly.

McGonagall looked ready to deny his request, but after looking at the body of her lion once more, she nodded and went to go and get him out of there.

"Even if you bury him, Dumbledore...I'll still find him, and take him." said Voldemort smoothly.

McGonagall hurried over to Harry's fallen body and made to levitate the body to the relative safety of Headquarters. However, before she could wave her wand, something made her pause. She instead, reached down to take the boy's wrist in her hand. She had to verify to her disbelieving heart that he was indeed dead. The student that seemed to get into the worst possible trouble and life threatening adventures, the one that she tried again and again to protect...was now dead.

She touched his wrist.

* * *

"You son of a bitch! Are you happy?" shouted Sirius as he and Remus dueled Peter and Macnair. "James was your friend! Your friend, and you killed him! You killed James, you killed Lily and now you killed their baby! Their little boy!"

Peter ducked and dodged as a visibly enraged Sirius and a murderous Lupin threw hex after hex towards him. If he tried to transform and flee the battle, they would turn the tables on him and force him to transform back to his human self and keep up the barrage of spells.

There was no chance of him escaping by biting off an appendage this time.

* * *

The snake dodged and curled around, trying to dodge Mr. Weasley's curses and hexes. He had at first wanted to tear after Lucius, but after the snake had tried to sink it's fangs into Bill's legs at least twice, he directed his attention to the snake.

"Not my _boy_!" shouted Mr. Weasley angrily as he tore after the venomous snake.

The snake turned towards the slightly balding man and bared it's fangs.

It lunged and Mr. Weasley drew back his wand.

* * *

Mrs. Weasley was screeching at a cackling Bellatrix who was flaunting and taunting at the mother of seven. She sent curse after curse at the house where the children were hiding in and even pelted a few at the screaming muggles. Mrs. Weasley was not having it.

She lost one child that was as good as her own, she'll be damned if she lost another one.

* * *

Meanwhile, the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore seemed to take on a bit more of a violent, passionate them. After a particularly painful hex casted by Dumbledore, Voldemort brought his wand close to himself and then opened his arms wide, giving off a primal scream. A wave of pure magic emanated from his body and sent it crashing into the others around him, breaking the glass of the muggle houses nearby.

Dumbledore stumbled back from the force of the spell and fell to one of his knees.

There was the opening Voldemort was waiting for, without even a single gloat, he fired off a curse, a bolt of jet green screaming across the air towards the old man. The bane of his existence, the man he could never have fawn over him like the other fools in this world.

As the spell neared the old man, he could almost see the memories of the past regarding his moments with the old man. Memories of the man bringing him to the magical world, and teaching him. Then the memories that began to flood his mind were clearly not his own as he had no memory of them.

The old man sitting beside him in the Hospital Wing, a concern but proud smile on his face. Then he was standing in the man's office, once again the man was looking at him, pride and adoration coming off him in waves. More and more scenes played before his eyes and a powerful surge of emotion crashed through his body, what was this feeling?

It felt like anger, but it didn't burn in his stomach.

It felt like desire, but it felt beyond that.

It reminded him of the emotion that Bella felt when she had first been told of the girl that he had taken hostage. What did Lucius call it...jealously?

How could he, Lord Voldemort, be jealous of anyone? He had the knowledge, skills, and now, with Potter dead and Dumbledore well on his way, unrivaled power. There was no one to stop him!

A silly emotion, it could not possibly be attributed to him.

* * *

McGonagall gasped slightly, she had expected cold skin, veins that would lay still under her fingers. She did not expect a thrumming pulse under her fingers or the safe warmth on the young man's arm.

* * *

The green spell was now a foot away from the Headmaster, he didn't have the time to regret anything, his life was about to...

"_Expelliarmus!" _

A jet of red light came crashing against the green light and pushed it back to it's point of origin. If Voldemort had said anything, Harry did not hear it. Despite the foe of his lifetime standing before him, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to what had just happened to him.

Was it a dream? Was it even real?

* * *

_"Now lad, we're sending you back..." said Peter._

_"But if I kill him, won't that make me just as bad? Doesn't that go against those rules and send me...well...down there?" said Harry pointing down at the ground._

_"Like I said before, you were given a pardon...if it comes to that. There are other ways of defeating him if that is what you choose. Your choice will determine the miracle you receive." said Peter with a smile._

_"Miracle?" asked Harry._

_"Well, while we had thrown you under the proverbial bus, we certainly aren't going to let you go back without some help. How you want to defeat him, will choose the nature of the miracle...the choice is up to you." said Peter. "Once you make your choice, the miracle will happen."_

_"You don't trust me to be able to defeat him as I am?" asked Harry with a smile._

_"You will have the power within a few years or so to stand up to him, but if you would prefer to avoid anymore bloodshed, now is as good a time as any."_

_Harry looked at his hands._

_"Something wrong?" asked Peter._

_"I thought...I grew up hearing...that being magical...a witch or wizard...was frowned on...in a religious way." said Harry._

_Peter chuckled. "HE loves everyone, lad, and it was one of his own angels that gave your ancestors the powers they possessed. HE has not put a stop to that gift, and he has more than enough power to do so."_

_Harry blinked._

_"As the modern man says, 'two words, jealous propaganda'."_

* * *

Harry looked down at his hand for a brief moment, what he wanted, how he wanted to end the battle, the results would be up to him. Did he want to make sure that Voldemort wouldn't hurt anyone else again?

He wanted to see his family again, but if he killed Voldemort...would be be given that pardon later down the road? Peter didn't say anything about taking the pardon away, so he didn't suppose he couldn't be given the green light. But he didn't want to go that far, so if he couldn't kill him, how was he supposed to stop him?

As long as he had that wand, or any wand, he was dangerous and he certainly would stop to regain it, so taking it away from him would do little to nothing.

How do you take magic away from someone that knew almost all there was to know about the Dark Arts?

The idea then hit him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and asked whoever was listening up above for help towards the goal he wanted. He thought nothing was happening, that perhaps it all _was _a dream, he didn't know what he was going to do now...but then his wand began to vibrate, and grow steadily warmer. Harry had to grip his wand with both hands and then held on tight as the tip of the wand erupted into a bright ethereal light.

The light that Voldemort had sent him was smothered, and in the blink of an eye, so was the caster himself. The light then shot out in different directions and claimed the bodies of each Death Eater within the vicinity.

* * *

"So...this man...is You-Know-Who?" said Fudge.

Aurors and obliviators were surrounding the area and taking care of the muggles in the area and anyone else that had been injured in the crossfire. The Minister himself came down to survey the damage and when he looked down at the man with his arms tied behind his back and gagged, he, the Minister was stunned.

He was a middle aged man, but was still quite dashing in looks, he was wearing nothing but a black robe, no shoes, no undergarments...nothing.

"It is indeed." said Dumbledore.

"But...he looks...normal...the last time I had seen even a fleeting glimpse of him, he...didn't look like this." said Fudge.

"No...something happened...something quite wondrous, something that forced all the dark enchantments out of him, and left him as the way he should have been. A normal looking man." said Dumbledore with a slight smile down to the man restrained, who was thrashing against his bonds and glaring at the men standing above him.

"And you say Potter did this? Where is he? I'm sure that the Department of Mys..." said Fudge.

"Alas, he does not remember anything that has happened today." said Dumbledore, his smile faltering slightly. "And is no longer here, he and the rest of the Weasley children have been taken to the Burrow, for some well deserved peace and quite on this Christmas day."

Fudge sighed heavily. "Well...I...I'll get Black's paperwork finalized tonight, and Pettigrew and the rest will be taken to Azkaban to await trial. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Just a hope that you are as wise in your decisions regarding all the Death Eaters captured today, at least three of them were Ministry workers and if they had not shown their hands and lost today, I fear for what may have happened to our country." said Dumbledore with a stern look. "Also, I would keep an eye on Tom, I don't think he will last long in Azkaban, without magic to keep the Dementors at bay, I fear they will eat him until there is nothing left."

Fudge looked at the man straining against the robes angrily, sending murderous looks towards the Headmaster.

"Now, if you'll forgive, I did have an extra toy for Mercy that I wanted to give her, before all this unpleasantness started. I do hope it hasn't been destroyed by his actions. If it had, a simple reparo charm will fix it" said Dumbledore, sending a slightly smug look down to the thrashing man.

* * *

Harry looked up at Grace and smiled. "You're awfully clingy today."

"You!..." said Grace, her eyes brimming with tears, she had been told due to the head wound he received, (which left a large gash on his forehead, directly over his scar) it was likely that his memory would be scattered, and limited. Though he seemed to remember everything before, but what had transpired that day was a complete mystery to him, and he was shocked that Lord Voldemort would no longer plague him. "I'm just happy I'm spending Christmas with you."

"I'm happy too." said Harry with a smile, he bounced the toddler on his stomach with a laugh and tweaked her bow. "Have to say, this is the best Christmas I could ever hope for."

* * *

**Okay, compared to ALL the other stories I've written on this site and others, this has been a very short story. The longest one I have on date is well over 160 chapters. So with the end of this...that means you can go to the poll on my Profile page and pick what story you would like to see next! **

**Now unfortunately, you may see some choices come and some choices go. That means that I have lost the inspiration to go through with the stories and they have been put on the back burners. They're still written on a special document on my flash drive, and may even have a pilot chapter to go with it, but right now...am not feeling the vibe. **

**And if you liked this story...keep an eye out for the sequel choice. I'm not feeling the inspiration just yet, but I've been known to have a constantly changing frame of inspiration.**

**But seriously, this was a fun ride and I hope that you all enjoyed it. **

_**Lady Celestial Star**_


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